The United States appears to be in an escalatory spiral of strikes and counterstrikes with Iran-backed groups in the Middle East. Attacks by Iran-backed groups on U.S. forces in both Iraq and Syria persisted. This relationship between U.S. forces and Iran-backed groups – tense but not crossing the line into overt hostilities – began to unravel in 2018. Attacks by Iran-backed groups on U.S. forces in Iraq continued during the remainder of Trump’s time in office. Why are these hostilities between U.S. forces and Iran-backed groups happening now?

Source: The North Africa Journal November 10, 2023 22:30 UTC