Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced Friday that they carried out an attack on a U.S. special operations command center located at al-Tanf in Syria. The strike, according to Iranian state media, was described as retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers in the city of Iranshahr.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the claim. As of the time of the report, neither the Syrian government nor the U.S. military had issued any statement in response.
It is worth noting that the U.S. military announced in February that it had finished withdrawing from the al-Tanf base, which sits at the point where the borders of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq meet.
Syria has been working to keep itself out of the broader regional conflict that has drawn in neighboring countries. Lebanon has seen fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, while Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq have carried out drone and rocket attacks.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa stated in March that his country intended to remain neutral unless it was directly attacked. Speaking at an event hosted by the Chatham House think tank in London, Sharaa said: “Unless Syria is targeted by any party, Syria will remain outside any conflict.”
In addition to the strike claim, the Revolutionary Guards stated that Iran maintains full control over the Strait of Hormuz. They warned, according to state media, that no oil or gas would be allowed to pass through the waterway for as long as U.S. attacks continue.
