Biden Defends Strikes on Iran-Backed Militias, Rebuts Critics
- Blinken says strikes sent an ‘unambiguous deterrent message’
- Iran’s new president-elect hasn’t addressed strikes in public
This article is for subscribers only.
President Joe Biden said he ordered airstrikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria and pushed back against members of Congress who questioned whether he should have consulted them about any imminent threat before attacking.
“I directed last night’s airstrikes targeting sites used by the Iranian-backed militia groups responsible for recent attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq, and I had that authority under Article II,” Biden said Monday in his first public remarks on the attack, citing the Constitutional provision making him commander in chief.