Another U.S. Official Avoids Dismissing 'Potential Military Operations Inside Iran'

John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House, on Sunday morning, February 4, in an interview with Fox News, refrained from dismissing the possibility of military operations inside Iran. In response to a suggestion made by Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator, that attacks should target significant objectives within Iran, including oil infrastructure, Kirby stated that he would not discuss potential military operations in the future during a television program. Kirby is the second senior White House official to avoid dismissing the possibility of military operations inside Iran on Sunday morning. Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Advisor, also, on Sunday morning, three times in response to a question from an NBC News host regarding whether the Biden administration had ruled out an attack inside Iran, said he did not intend to discuss options on the table during a television program. Kirby responded to criticisms regarding the delay in retaliatory attacks after the Biden administration's threats to carry them out, stating that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran's proxies were aware that their attacks on American forces would face a U.S. response even before last week's attacks. He mentioned that attacks like those on Friday night (U.S. time) should be conducted 'in a calculated manner,' with carefully chosen targets and all necessary factors considered for their effectiveness. Kirby, like Jake Sullivan, warned that Friday night marked the 'first round' of attacks and that more attacks against the IRGC and its supported groups were forthcoming. The White House National Security spokesperson, in response to requests from lawmakers from both parties that the President should obtain congressional authorization for conducting attacks, stated that Biden's actions are consistent with Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution regarding the President's responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief, and that retaliatory attacks are conducted in self-defense to destroy these groups' capabilities to attack U.S. soldiers and facilities. Kirby, in response to criticisms that some of Biden's actions, such as not seriously enforcing oil sanctions against the Islamic Republic, have created the current situation, stated that the imposition of hundreds of sanctions against Iranian officials and entities over the past three years and the strengthening of U.S. military presence in the region demonstrate that Biden has not adopted a lenient approach towards the Islamic Republic. He reiterated that Biden does not seek to escalate conflicts to the region and go to war with Iran, emphasizing that the attacks on Friday night are not the end and that more attacks are on the way. The U.S. has conducted a series of airstrikes against centers and bases of forces affiliated with the Islamic Republic and the IRGC in Syria and Iraq since early Saturday local time, which, according to the U.S. President, is the first phase of a series of attacks following the deaths of three American soldiers and injuries to more than 40 others in Jordan.