Opinion: Middle East crisis: US airstrikes against Iran-backed armed groups explained

Julie Norman Dr Julie Norman (UCL Political Science) explains what the US airstrikes against Iran-backed armed groups means for the Gaza conflict, President Biden and the Middle East region in The Conversation. US airstrikes on Iran-backed armed groups  on February 2  have been anticipated for some time. Since the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7, US forces in the Middle East have been targeted more than  150 times. These attacks, mainly on US bases in Iraq and Syria caused minimal damage thanks to US air defence capabilities. The Biden administration had responded with  modest strikes  on the militias' weapons storage and training sites. But a  drone attack  on January 28 on Tower 22, a US base on the Jordanian-Syrian border, killed three soldiers and wounded dozens of others. The deaths represented an unofficial red line for many in Washington, and  political pressure  mounted fast on President Biden to respond more forcefully against the armed groups - or even  against Iran  itself.