Amid the American and Israeli targeting of Iran’s field commanders and prominent officials among its agents in the region, questions arise regarding the effectiveness of the specific assassination strategy and its ability to restrain Tehran and its arms in the region, in light of what appear to be American attempts to separate Iran from militia practices.
In its response to the “Tower 22” attack, American fire captured two of the most prominent officials of Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq: Abu Baqir al-Saadi and Arkan al-Alaywi.
Before that, Israeli fire assassinated the leader of the Revolutionary Guard, Radhi Mousavi, in the Syrian arena. The second man in Hamas, Saleh Al-Arouri, was assassinated in Hezbollah’s stronghold, in the southern suburbs.
Wissam Al-Tawil, the leader of Hezbollah’s Radwan Division, was killed in a very precise operation, in which one of them arrived at his home, in Khirbet Selm, southern Lebanon.
Israeli fire also reached Abbas Muhammad Raad, the son of the representative of the Hezbollah bloc, Muhammad Raad. The list of those killed is long, among the prominent field commanders on the Gaza fronts.
Perhaps the United States and Israel, through the approach of specific assassinations, want to convince the targets that striking them in their strongholds of power is not difficult, and that the Americans and Israelis have sufficient coordinates to reach them and liquidate them with precision.
Perhaps the bet is also that placing the first-line leaders and active cadres under the pressure of being targeted at any time will, in one way or another, be reflected in the tightening of their security measures, which will reduce their space of movement and, as a result, limit their effectiveness and operational capabilities.
In the face of all this, the leaders of the first rank in the armed factions may find themselves forced to hide and push out the leaders of the second rank.
Such a decision would lead to a state of uncertainty regarding all possible repercussions on the morale of the groups and their leaders.
All of these tactical bets to restrain Iran and its proxies, without confronting it in an open war, seem possible, but their effectiveness remains undecided.
Regional escalation… the policy of assassinations and warnings of escalation
To what extent did American policies ignite the region?
In this regard, the military and strategic expert, Brigadier General Haitham Hassoun, said in his interview with the newsroom on “Sky News Arabia” that these American attempts are nothing but an attempt to restore lost prestige and impose methods of deterrence that have become missing:
- American bases in the region were exposed to strikes from the Iraqi and Syrian resistance, in addition to the Yemeni resistance, which confronts the American naval presence in the Red Sea.
- Assassination operations are considered a kind of moral victory, despite their inability to change the course of events, the balance of power, and change the rules of engagement.
- There is a security war that brings together the two main sides, namely Iran and its allies, and the other side is the United States and Israel.
- The United States is not only dealing with the crisis, but is contributing to creating chaos in this region by participating in the killing of the Palestinian people and engaging in the war that Israel is waging against them.
- The United States refused and avoided entering into a direct confrontation with Iran.
- The United States does not want to make its forces in this region fixed targets.
- The necessity of removing the American forces that were the reason for introducing ISIS into Syria and Iraq in 2014.
- The American presence in Syria is illegal, and it is an occupation of Syrian territory.
- The United States has no legitimacy in determining the fate of countries in the region that brought destruction to it.
- The region is expected to witness the expulsion of Americans from Iraq and Syria, as happened in Afghanistan.
- Blinken’s visit to the region is only to serve American electoral interests and Israeli interests.
- America has the ability to manage situations in the region and force Netanyahu to stop the war whenever it wants.
For his part, Michael Pregent, principal researcher at the Hudson Institute and former military intelligence, believes that the focus that the Biden administration is placing on pursuing Kataib Hezbollah and the leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Syria and Iraq is an effort to confront terrorists in the region.
- Any person who is targeted or placed on terrorist lists is a legitimate target for American marches.
- The United States should launch more attacks on Houthi targets that pose a threat in the region.
- Iran exploits the released funds to finance its arms in the region.
- The need to further tighten sanctions on Iran so that it is unable to finance its militias stationed in the region and target their leaders.
- What is happening in Iraq now is the result of some complacency by politicians in the White House due to their lack of a road map or clear policy.
- There is disdain and mockery of American power by Iran and its groups.
- There is no need for the American presence in Syria and it is time to leave.
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2024-02-10 11:33:35
