United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has confirmed that American fighter jets carried out airstrike operations against an IRGC target in eastern Syria tonight.

IN a statement, Secretary Austin said “Today, at President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces conducted a self-defense strike on a facility in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRC) and affiliated groups. This strike was conducted by two U.S. F-15s against a weapons storage facility. This precision self-defense strike is a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC-Quds Force affiliates.”

“The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests. The United States is fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities. We urge against any escalation. U.S. personnel will continue to conduct counter-ISIS missions in Iraq and Syria,” the statement added.

The strikes come amid over 40 drone and rocket attacks carried out by Iran-backed Shia militias over the past three weeks against American airbases in both Iraq and Syria, which have resulted in dozens of casualties (although they have been described as light by the Pentagon).

This only marks the second retaliatory strike by the United States for the series of attacks. On October 26, American warplanes targeted two facilities in eastern Syria used by the IRGC and its proxies. Like this latest statement, the Secretary Austin warned at the time against escalation and stated that the United States has the right to defend its personnel and interests.