US retaliatory strike 'a measured escalation': analyst
STORY: Jonathan Lord, Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, said: “It does represent a type of escalation, but I do think it's a rather measured escalation.”
The strikes, which included the use of long-range B-1 bombers flown from the U.S., are the first in a multi-tiered response by President Joe Biden's administration to the attack by Iran-backed militants, and more U.S. military operations are expected in the coming days.
While the U.S. strikes did not target sites inside Iran, they signal a further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East from Israel's more than three-month-old war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.
