Iran's retribution? US military base in Syria attacked a day after Op Midnight Hammer: Report

In a major escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict since the US bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, Tehran on Monday retaliated with a mortar attack on an American military base in Syria's Hasakah province.

Following the attack, the base—which has been attacked before by pro-Iranian forces—was further fortified, a Mehr agency report said.

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The reported attack on the Hasakah base follows an American operation—titled 'Midnight Hammer'—just a day ago, which saw three key Iranian nuclear sites struck by more than fourteen 13.6-tonne Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) payloads, also known as "bunker-buster" bombs.

On Sunday (IST), the Pentagon offered a detailed timeline of how the strikes were carried out, mentioning Israeli support in a decoy that fooled Iranian military tracking systems so that as many as 125 aircraft—which included seven B-2 bombers—could attack Fordow and Natanz. Isfahan had been attacked with Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by US Navy submarines in the area. 

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As it revealed later on, Israel's support was not limited to helping the US bomb Iran: Tel Aviv launched its own offensive on Iran a couple of hours later, which struck “dozens” of military targets across Iran by means of fighter jets using 60+ munitions, asper the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). 

Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani on Sunday asked for an emergency session of the UN Security Council, for what he described as America's “heinous attacks and illegal use of force". The UNSC sessions inevitably saw a war of words between the two nations, with Iravani also blaming Tel Aviv for dragging Washington into the conflict.

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“The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns and denounces in the strongest possible terms these unprovoked and premeditated acts of aggression, which have followed the large-scale military attack conducted by the Israeli regime on 13 June against Iran's peaceful nuclear sites and facilities," his letter to the UNSC stated, as per an Associated Press report.

He had also threatened the US with an adequate response from Iran's armed forces, a move that both US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned it against. 

As the US remains on high alert, especially at its military bases in the Middle East, Israel continues to attack Iran. In its latest offensive, Tel Aviv has attacked Iran's Evin prison, which is notorious for its political prisoners: a move attacking Tehran's ruling system, as per a Reuters report.

Middle East