WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Tensions are rising between the U.S. and Iran. Defense officials say American ships shot down more than a dozen drones and missiles in the Red Sea Tuesday following a drone attack on a U.S. air base in Iraq on Christmas day that follows a retaliatory strike by the U.S. on Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Iraq earlier this week.
The back-and-forth strikes undercut efforts by the U.S. and others to keep the Israel-Hamas war from spilling into a wider regional conflict.
For weeks, Iranian backed militia groups in Yemen and elsewhere have launched drone attacks against shipping freighters in the Red Sea.
Many of which were intercepted by U.S. missiles.
On Christmas day, U.S. forces in Iraq were injured in a drone attack linked directly to Iran.
Officials say three service members there were hurt.
The U.S. responded by striking multiple Iranian-backed targets in Iraq.
U.S. officials say those strikes killed at least one militant and injured 18 others but also sparked anti-U.S. protests in Iraq.
NSA spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement in part “…the president ordered strikes in three separate areas.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement the U.S. won’t hesitate to “take necessary action to defend the United States, our troops and our interests.”
In the meantime, Washington officials continue to meet with Israeli leaders and allies to keep the conflict in Israel from spreading.
