Biden’s airstrikes will escalate tensions in the Middle East – there could be worse to come

The US president is under domestic pressure to hit back at the militias that killed American soldiers, writes Bel Trew. But until there is peace is Gaza, the risks of wider war in the region will only grow

Joe Biden in Delaware as the bodies of the US soldiers killed in Jordan are returned home (AP)

The tidal wave of US strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria on Friday night is one of the most significant actions taken by the US against Iran’s proxies since the height of the Iraq War.

Washington said numerous aircraft, including long range B-1 bombers flown all the way from the States, pounded more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s revolutionary guards and its affiliates, strikes which may have killed as many as 40 people.

The sorties, which involved the firing of over 125 munitions, were in retaliation for last weekend’s attack by Iran-backed militants on US forces in Jordan. They will not be the last.