00:00 What more can you tell us?
00:01 Right, well, you're right.
00:03 This is the third time that the US has launched attacks against what it says are Iranian militia
00:07 and basically the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards.
00:11 The Islamic Revolutionary Guards are there to protect Iran's interests and Iran's interests
00:16 overseas.
00:18 And they have been accused of launching attacks against US forces based in not only Syria,
00:24 but also Iraq.
00:25 Reports from the Pentagon say up to at least 50 attacks have taken place since the 17th
00:30 of October.
00:31 So there have been three retaliatory attacks by the US, one on the 26th of October, one
00:35 on the 8th of November, and then one on November the 12th.
00:39 And the US has made it pretty clear.
00:40 They say if Iran is going to carry on shelling US positions in Syria and in Iraq, then the
00:47 US will take the retaliatory steps that it needs to protect US forces.
00:52 Now, what we do know is from these latest attacks, at least eight Iran fighters were
00:57 killed and a weapons depot destroyed.
01:00 And up until today, we know that at least 56 US service personnel have been injured
01:06 in these attacks.
01:07 So far, no reports that anyone has been killed.
01:10 The question is, of course, are they going to stop these attacks anytime soon from the
01:14 part of the Iranians?
01:16 And most experts say that is pretty unlikely.
01:19 This has all been exacerbated and carried on by what is going on in Gaza right now.
01:24 They say that the number of attacks has been pretty constant over the past few months and
01:29 doesn't look as though there's going to be any sign of a let up, even though there are
01:32 these warnings from the Pentagon and from the United States that Iran has got to stop
01:35 doing this.
01:36 And Philip, why are US forces in Iraq and Syria?
01:39 OK, well, there are two main reasons.
01:40 The first reason is that the US is based not only in Syria, where it has about 900 troops,
01:47 but also in Iraq, where it has a much larger contingent of about 2,500 troops.
01:53 The reason that they are there is because they are fighting against the resurgence of
01:58 ISIS, the Islamic State.
02:00 That is what they are there to do and to help train soldiers on the ground also to be able
02:06 to fight against ISIS forces and jihadists.
02:10 There is also another reason that is not completely clear and explicitly spoken about in the US,
02:16 and that is to counteract against Iran's growing power in the region and its influence.
02:22 And in particular, if US forces are based in Iraq and in Syria, that is going to complicate
02:30 matters when it comes to Iran putting, for example, munitions on track to try to take
02:38 them to Lebanon to supply Hezbollah and up until now also to try to supply Hamas.
02:44 Iran has said that it is not pulling the strings, it is not in charge of any of the doings,
02:49 goings on that is taking place in Syria and in Iraq, saying that it doesn't give orders
02:54 directly to these forces.
02:57 But I think the bottom line here is that we're still seeing this standoff between Iran and
03:03 Syria, Iran, sorry, Iran and the United States, who don't get on with each other at all.
03:09 That's the least one can say, Iran describing the US as the great Satan.
03:14 On top of that, Iran is supporting Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president.
03:21 So that is another reason that Iran has a large influence in Syria, but the US is there
03:25 to fight against ISIS.
03:26 So it's a very complicated mixture of different groups all together in one country.
03:32 And that is why we've seen these skirmishes taking place.
03:34 This at the same time as the reports on Al-Jazeera saying that there have been bombing raids
03:39 by the Russians, because the Russians don't see eye to eye with the US having bases there,
03:43 against rebels in eastern Syria as well, rebels who are fighting against Bashar al-Assad.
03:50 So the whole situation there is rather volatile.
03:54 And there's a lot of worries that what is going on in Gaza right now could make this
03:58 a much more dangerous situation as well at the moment.
04:00 So Bashar al-Assad is being embraced, re-embraced by the Arab world.
04:04 Thank you very much for that, Philip.
04:05 Philip, tell them.
04:05 So tell them.
