Shafaq News/ US media outlets considered the US airstrikes were a "fairly restrained response" to what it described as the most deadly incident for American troops in the region in almost three years.
In a report followed by Shafaq News Agency, CNN indicated that more US strikes are likely to follow in the next few days, worsening the regional tensions caused by Israel's war with Hamas.
CNN's report said that the airstrikes were meant to look destructive, and that "the Iran-backed forces likely felt that way", but the airstrikes that hit more than 80 targets in Iraq and Syria on Friday night were, so far, a "fairly restrained response" to the killing of Americans, noting that the strikes were far from the worst damage that the Pentagon could do.
The report added that the US airstrikes were "brief, intense, but not startling", saying that what happened was a "deliberate and measured choice".
In the report, Biden administration had a "very tough challenge" since it had to strike with enough force while at the same time making sure the opponent would not respond.
The report stated that Washington had been discussing its response for over five days, with senior US officials talking about the attack's nature and severity, even indicating the targets. Apparently, this warning was intended to reduce the chance of misunderstanding, and maybe allow the targeted forces to move their positions to reduce casualties.
Considering that "the main purpose of the US airstrikes might have been to avoid any confusion between them so that the Israelis would not take retaliation and increase the risk of escalation.".
Meanwhile, the report stated that the US strikes might represent the beginning of a series of extensive attacks on the Iranian-backed forces, and that the strikes occurred shortly after President Biden attended a ceremony honoring American soldiers who died in the attack on the US base in Al-Tanf.
Taking 30 minutes to carry out the airstrikes suggests that the US administration is trying to follow a careful approach, as they seek to stop and prevent the attacks on their forces. As a result of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the US wants to avoid a major conflict with Iran in a volatile region.
An official with the Pentagon said the strikes involved B-1 bombers, which can drop both precise and imprecise bombs.
The report also said that Americans had been attacked by forces supported by Iran over 160 times since last October. Some Republican legislators urged attacks inside Iran to warn of it, but US officials insisted that any reaction had to be "proportional" to avoid worsening the regional crisis
The Financial Times reported that the attacks hit locations of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which was the first direct US targeting of this group as part of its military operations in the region. The report also expressed concern that Washington might be getting more entangled in a broader regional conflict, because of the war in Gaza.
According to France 24, the attacks in Deir Ezzor and Al-Mayadeen killed 23 people, with 10 deaths in Deir Ezzor and 13 in Al-Mayadeen. The report said that 9 of the victims were Syrians and 6 were Iraqis. It also quoted some American analysts who said that Iran did not want a larger clash with the US, but that it gained more support in the Arab world by backing Hamas.
In addition to that, the American channel CNBC reported that Britain called the US its "firm" ally and backed its right to retaliate against the attacks. The report cited Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski in Brussels as saying that Iran's allies had provoked US strikes.