U.S. wary of possible retaliation from Iran-backed Hezbollah
U.S. wary of possible retaliation from Iran-backed Hezbollah
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00:00 Concerns over Washington, D.C.'s greatest fear on the ramifications of a raging and
00:04 lopsided war between Israel and Hamas continue to shape up with U.S. intel reports confirming
00:11 Tehran's moves to launch attacks on U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere.
00:17 Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters are launching rocket strikes and artillery fire from the
00:22 border of Lebanon into Israel over the last few days.
00:26 And Iran's foreign minister has let out a warning on Israel's unabated bombardment,
00:31 as VOA's Cindy Sane reports.
00:36 Israel's military has increased its air strikes on Gaza, destroying entire neighborhoods amid
00:42 expectations of an Israeli ground offensive.
00:46 Amid fears of a wider war erupting, White House National Security Council coordinator
00:51 John Kirby said attacks on U.S. interests in the region have increased.
00:57 We know Iran continues to support Hamas and Hezbollah.
01:01 And we know that Iran is closely monitoring these events and in some cases actively facilitating
01:05 these attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit the conflict for their own
01:09 good or for that of Iran.
01:12 We know Iran's goal is to maintain some level of deniability here, but we're not going to
01:16 allow them to do that.
01:18 We also are not going to allow any threat to our interest in the region to go unchallenged.
01:22 On Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to ABC this week, saying the United
01:29 States is boosting its military presence in the Middle East.
01:33 As you know, recently we've seen rocket and UAV attacks against bases housing our troops
01:41 in Iraq and Syria.
01:43 We're concerned about potential escalation.
01:48 In fact, what we're seeing is the prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on
01:57 our troops and our people throughout the region.
02:02 And because of that, we're going to do what's necessary to make sure that our troops are
02:09 in a good position, they're protected.
02:13 Since the October 7 attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, killing
02:20 more than 1,400 Israelis, Israel's strikes on Gaza have killed at least 5,000 Palestinians.
02:29 The United Nations and humanitarian groups are calling for a humanitarian pause in the
02:36 fighting.
02:37 State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller had this to say on Monday.
02:42 Any ceasefire would give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit, and to get ready to continue
02:48 launching terrorist attacks against Israel.
02:50 European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday he believed the group's
02:56 leaders would back a call for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to enter Gaza.
03:04 Humanitarian aid continued to trickle into the Gaza Strip as 20 more aid trucks entered.
03:11 But a lack of fuel for deliveries is threatening to halt the operation, with more than two
03:16 million besieged Palestinians awaiting help.
03:20 Cindy Sane, VOA News, the State Department.
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