President Joe Biden said Friday that a US airstrike against an Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria, the first since he took office, should be seen by Iran as a warning, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported. Asked what the message was from the airstrike, Biden said: “You can’t act with impunity.” “Be careful,” he added, speaking in Houston during a tour of relief efforts after a huge winter storm in Texas. Syria and Iran on Friday condemned the attack with Damascus calling it a “bad sign” from the new Biden administration and Tehran saying it would further destabilize the region. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said two F-15E “Strike Eagles” dropped seven precision-guided munitions on Thursday on facilities in eastern Syria used by militias believed to be behind a spate of rocket attacks on US troops in Iraq.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Saturday called upon the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities and immediately move to stop the US acts of aggression on the Syrian territories and to prevent their repetition, SANA reported. In a letter addressed to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the UN Security Council, the ministry reiterated, with regard to Washington’s violation of the provisions of the international law and the UN Charter, that this aggression is one of a series of US attacks under flimsy pretexts. The ministry stressed that this aggression contradicts the supposed role of the US as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, concerned with safeguarding international peace and security.
A new batch of Military Academy students graduated on Saturday. According to SANA, the representative of the celebration’s sponsor Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Defense Minister, Lt. Gen. Ali Abdallah Ayoub delivered a speech in which he conveyed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s congratulations to the students, wishing them success in performing their duties and missions. Ayoub called upon the students to shoulder their responsibilities in defending the homeland and confronting the heinous war waged against it.
On Friday, Anas al-Abdah, the President of the Syrian Negotiations Committee, called on the European Council to pressure the Syrian government to become involved in the political peace process, warning that “wasting time causes Syrians to shed blood, be hungry, and poor.” This statement, according to North Press, was made during a meeting between the Syrian Negotiations Committee and the European Council delegation on Friday. Abdah stressed the importance of activating the European Council’s role in pressuring the Syrian government and its allies “pushing the political solution to support Syrians and their revolution’s demands.” “All these attempts are void, as long as the Syrian regime continues its obstinacy and ignores the importance of the Constitutional Committee’s work,” an opposition source who preferred to be unnamed told North Press in a phone call.
