Iran should not mistake American restraint for weakness: Esper

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran should not mistake US restraint for weakness and should watch its step, two US defense officials told a congressional briefing on Wednesday.

Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Mark Milley and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper briefed the House Armed Services Committee in Washington on Wednesday about US operations across the Middle East.

Iran is still the “leading state sponsor of terrorism”, General Milley told US lawmakers.

“We are, as one of the congressmen said, in the period, I think, of heightened risk with respect to Iran, and I know this is a public hearing. We are not going to talk intel[ligence], but I would caution Iran publicly to be very, very cautious as to how they proceed,” Milley warned.

Iran and the US have been at loggerheads since May 2018 after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal, citing Iran’s destabilizing interventions in the Middle East and ballistic missiles program.

The Trump administration reimposed economic sanctions under its “maximum pressure” campaign designed to squeeze Iran’s oil revenues, throwing the Iranian currency into freefall.

Tensions began to rise in the Persian Gulf region when several oil tankers suffered mysterious explosions.

In June, the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down a US Global Hawk spy drone over the Gulf. 

Trump called off retaliatory strikes at the last moment to avoid killing Iranian troops, instead opting for a cyberattack. 

However, in mid-September things escalated further with a drone and missile attack on Saudi Arabia Aramco oil facilities, which knocked out half of the Gulf kingdom’s oil supply. 

Saudi Arabia and the US accused Iran of launching or at least sponsoring the attack. Tehran vehemently denied involvement, pointing the finger at Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which have been fighting the Saudis since 2015.

To bolster the security of its regional allies and the world oil market, the US has boosted its troop presence across the region. Near the end of September it decided to deploy 200 troops and Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia, further bolstering the aircraft carrier group patrolling near the Gulf.

Despite the escalation, both Washington and Tehran say they want to avoid armed conflict. This has not softened their rhetoric, however. 

“The Iranians should not mistake our restraint for weakness. We are prepared to act if our forces or our interests are attacked,” Esper said.

Iran’s rulers were faced with mass protests in mid-November over fuel price hikes, which were brutally put down. According to Amnesty International, at least 140 people were killed.

The US officials warned congressmen that military means should be used in the last very resort once all other means have been exhausted.

“I commanded in Iraq and lost soldiers to Iranian supported surrogates with various munitions that were provided by the Iranians. So there is no illusion on any of our part about the malign influence of Iran,” Milley said.

According to the US Defense Intelligence Agency, foreign intervention is central to Iran’s defensive strategy. The US has been playing a game of cat and mouse for political influence in Iraq for years now.

Iran’s friends in Iraq are under a lot of pressure now due to nationwide protests which began October 1. Anti-Iranian sentiment is visible among Iraqi protesters, who have torched three of Iran’s five consulates in the past two years. 

Nevertheless, Iran-backed groups and parties keep enabling Iran’s interests. According to intelligence gathered by US officials and the Pentagon, Iran has been moving short-range ballistic missiles into Iraq, capitalizing on the unrest.

The US is already wary of an Iranian attack on its forces. 

Rocket attacks targeting US forces and foreign infrastructure have been on the rise in Iraq. The Iraqi Security Media Cell, tasked with security announcements, has reported at least four rocket attacks since November 29, some of them targeting Ain Assad base in Anbar which hosts US troops.

“But when is enough enough? I firmly believe that the use of military force should be a last resort, not a first resort, and that diplomatic efforts should be exhausted, and all non-military methods to resolve a given problem should be used first,” the general told the briefing.

“I think you have to have a reasonable prospect of success if you are going to use military force. So, we have to be careful, deliberate, thoughtful. And I think restraint in this particular situation is an appropriate response up until this point. The ball is in the Iranian court. It depends on what they do, how big size scope in the future, and that will determine what we do,” he added.