Iran hailed Hamas' October 7 attack but denied any involvement while Tehran-backed militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen have increasingly attacked U.S. and anti-jihadi coalition troops deployed to Iraq and Syria. One such attack on a base in Jordan killed three U.S. military personnel on January 28, leading Washington to launch its own strikes against pro-Iran targets in Syria and Iraq. The United States, alongside Britain, also launched repeated strikes against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis in response to the group's persistent attacks on commercial shipping. The Houthis say their attacks in the Red Sea are in solidarity with Palestinians in war-battered Gaza.
