Were anyone actually interested in calming down the situation in Iran, the last thing they would do, would be to time more military strikes upon the region. However, on Jan. 10 U.S. Central Command announced that they had carried out “large-scale strikes” in Syria in retaliation for a Dec. 13, 2025 ambush near Palmyra, and on Jan. 11 Israel announced that it had targeted weapons-storage shafts used by Hezbollah at several sites in southern Lebanon, after it detected activity at the locations in recent months. Nothing in their announcements conveyed any sense of urgency or any indication that such attacks were timely—just the opposite.
The U.S. strikes were part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, ordered by President Donald Trump on Dec. 19, 2025. CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told NBC News that more than 35 targets were struck, more than 20 aircraft were involved, and more than 90 precision munitions were fired. The strikes targeted ISIS “as part of our ongoing commitment to root out Islamic terrorism against our warfighters, prevent future attacks, and protect American and partner forces in the region.” U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth weighed in with his post on X: “We will never forget, and never relent.”
