It is the second time in roughly two weeks that the US has targeted a location in Syria it said was "tied to Iran", which supports an array of armed groups that Washington blames for a spike in attacks on its forces in the Middle East.
"US military forces conducted a self-defence strike on a facility in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups. This strike was conducted by two US F-15s against a weapons storage facility," Austin said in a statement.
"This precision self-defence strike is a response to a series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC-Quds Force affiliates," Austin stressed, adding that the US "is fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities."
On 27 October, US fighter jets launched airstrikes on two locations in eastern Syria linked to IRGC, as "a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups" The Pentagon said.
The White House has accused Iran of "actively facilitating attacks" on US bases in the Middle East, "We know Iran's goal is to maintain some level of deniability here, but we're not going to allow them to do that," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi accused the US Monday of "encouraging" Israel to kill and carry out "cruel acts" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
"The aid from the US to the Zionist regime (Israel) is encouraging them to kill and commit cruel acts of neglect against the Palestinian people," Raisi said.
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