According to officials, the strikes will happen across several days, and the timing of their launch would probably depend on the weather.
It follows the Sunday drone attack that claimed the lives of three US soldiers in Jordan near the Syrian border.
The attack was attributed by the US to a militia group supported by Iran.
It is thought that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq is made up of several militias that have received equipment, financial support, and training from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards organization. It has declared that the strike on Sunday was its fault.
Iran, on the other hand, has denied any involvement in the strike at the Tower 22 military base that injured 41 additional US soldiers.
According to US sources, US intelligence believes that Iran created the drone used to assault the site, and that it resembles the drones that Iran has been supplying to Russia in preparation for its invasion of Ukraine.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin defended the postponed military response at a news conference on Thursday, saying, “We will respond where we choose, when we choose, and how we choose.”
“I think everyone recognises the challenge associated with making sure that we hold the right people accountable,” he stated, adding that there isn’t a “set formula for doing this” .
“This can be controlled in order to prevent it from getting out of hand. And we’ve kept that in mind the entire time,” Mr. Austin said.
An exact schedule for the possible strikes was not provided by the officials who talked with CBS News. Although they stated that the US military could launch them in inclement weather, they would have liked improved visibility to lessen the possibility of unintentionally striking people.
