Biden warns Iran to "be careful" after airstrikes in Syria

President Joe Biden is warning Iran to "be careful" if it continues to support militia groups that threaten U.S. interests or personnel. The warning follows airstrikes that targeted infrastructure used by Iranian-backed militia groups in Syria. David Martin reports.

Video Transcript

- President Biden is Warning Iran to quote, "Be careful," if it continues to support militia groups that threaten US interests or personnel. The warning follows US airstrikes in Syria Thursday that took out facilities used by Iranian-backed militia groups to attack US and allied forces in Iraq. Syria condemned the airstrikes. Iran has not responded. David Martin reports.

DAVID MARTIN: Cell phone video shows what was left of a desolate outpost on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq. Two F-15 Eagles dropped seven 500-pound bombs, completely destroying nine buildings and damaging two. Initial reports said one person was killed and three injured.

JOHN KIRBY: We recognize the significance of this operation as the first of its kind under the new administration.

DAVID MARTIN: Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Iranian-backed militias used the border post to smuggle weapons into Iraq.

JOHN KIRBY: We had information that these structures, this site, this compound were being used by these groups to facilitate the movement of resources, material, and weaponry into Iraq to conduct the attacks.

DAVID MARTIN: Two weeks ago, US officials say, Iranian-made rockets were fired at a base in Iraq where American troops are located. Thursday night's strike was a message to Iran.

JOHN KIRBY: That is an unambiguous, clear message to anyone in the region about what the stakes are if you're going to continue to conduct attacks on our people.

DAVID MARTIN: Defense officials say this strike was intended as a one-and-done. But that will depend on how Iran and its allies react.

For CBS This Morning Saturday, David Martin at the Pentagon.

Recommended Stories

  • Russia's Navalny moved to prison as Amnesty changes his status

    Putin foe's relocation to an undisclosed prison comes as Amnesty International faces a backlash over a dubiously timed decision to delist him as a "prisoner of conscience."

  • Iran threatens to end deal with IAEA over U.S.-led push to criticise it

    Iran is threatening to end a deal struck with the U.N. nuclear watchdog last weekend temporarily salvaging much monitoring of its activities if the agency's board endorses a U.S.-led push to criticise Tehran next week, an Iranian position paper shows. Tehran this week scaled back cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, ending extra inspection measures introduced by its 2015 nuclear accord with major powers. Iran and U.S. President Joe Biden's administration are now locked in a standoff over who should move first to save the unravelling 2015 deal.

  • U.S. targeted Iran-backed militias with seven 500-pound bombs

    The airstrike was the first military action authorized by President Biden and was designed to send a message to Iran.

  • Unable to get U.S. vaccines, world turns to Russia and China

    U.S. adversaries have taken the lead in shipping free shots overseas. Will the U.S. step up?

  • Pentagon: Strikes in Syria make clear US will act

    Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Friday the U.S. military airstrikes in eastern Syria Thursday were conducted against facilities that were used by Iran-backed militia groups, in response to recent attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq. (Feb. 26)

  • How the Pentagon Got Inside ISIS’ Chemical Weapons Operation—and Ended It

    How shady reports of ISIS-made poison gas led the U.S. to a valuable ISIS weapon-maker, who helped bring the whole operation down.

  • Iranian journalist, who won the International Press Freedom Award, was detained in Turkey after fleeing a nearly 5-year prison sentence

    Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced him on charges of "colluding against national security" and "spreading propaganda against the system," in 2020.

  • U.S. bombs facilities in Syria used by Iran-backed militia

    The United States launched airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops. The airstrike was the first military action undertaken by the Biden administration, which in its first weeks has emphasized its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China, even as Mideast threats persist.

  • Huthi supporters protest against blockade of Saudi coalition

    Supporters of the Yemeni Huthi rebels take to the streets of the rebel-held capital Sanaa to protest against the blockade imposed on their country by the Saudi-led military coalition.

  • Use-of-force expert breaks down how West Sacramento police shooting investigation could go

    Use-of-force expert breaks down how West Sacramento police shooting investigation could go

  • 'Safest place in the city': COVID cases in nursing homes drop 89% as residents get vaccinated

    Even as the virus slows nationwide, nursing home cases have dropped at a faster pace than COVID-19 infections overall, a USA TODAY analysis shows.

  • Israel turns to carrots, and maybe some sticks, to persuade COVID-19 vaccine holdouts

    Israel boasts the world's fastest COVID-19 vaccine rollout, with half the population inoculated. Reaching the other half presents challenges.

  • Commentary: Nuclear war was barely averted in 1983. Let that guide US-China relations now

    Like many who have been locked down at home this past year, I’ve been passing the time by binge-watching TV, mainly foreign series. Among the best of these is the “Deutschland” series, about East German spies in the latter days of the Cold War, much of it based on real events. The first season, which takes place in 1983, at a time of heightened East-West tension, deals with the growing fears ...

  • Biden to talk migration with Mexico's López Obrador, who spent weeks refusing to recognize the president's 2020 victory

    US President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, "will discuss cooperation on migration," according to the White House.

  • Biden on track to apply Trump-era rule targeting Chinese tech supply chain concerns

    The Biden administration plans to allow a Trump-era rule targeting Chinese technology firms deemed to pose a threat to the United States to go into effect despite objections from U.S. businesses, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday. The department issued an interim final rule in the final days of the Trump administration aimed at addressing information and communications technology supply chain concerns and said it would become effective after a 60-day period of public comment. On Friday, a Commerce spokeswoman said in a statement the department would continue to accept public comment on the rule until March 22, when it would go into effect.

  • Miguel Cabrera hopes to reach 500 HRs, 3,000 hits this year

    These last few seasons have been difficult for Miguel Cabrera. Specifically, Cabrera has an opportunity to reach two major milestones in 2021. It's been a while since Cabrera resembled the player who was the American League MVP in 2012 and 2013.

  • 49ers spend big for QB in Mel Kiper Jr. mock draft

    The San Francisco 49ers land Ohio State QB Justin Fields in trade with Atlanta Falcons in Mel Kiper Jr. mock draft.

  • Ilhan Omar leads calls to fire Senate official who scuppered $15 wage rise

    Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled provision in $1.9tn Covid stimulus bill did not qualify for budget reconciliation Ilhan Omar tweeted: ‘What’s a Democratic majority if we can’t pass our priority bills? This is unacceptable.’ Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters The progressive Democrat Ilhan Omar has called for the firing of the government official who effectively blocked the party’s plans to raise the minimum wage. Democratic plans to include a gradual raise to $15 in Joe Biden’s $1.9tn coronavirus stimulus bill were effectively ended on Thursday when the Senate parliamentarian ruled it should not be part of the package. The decision by Elizabeth MacDonough, who has held the non-partisan position since 2012, dashed hopes of including the raise in the bill – the first increase in over a decade. “Abolish the filibuster. Replace the parliamentarian,” Omar said in a tweet. “What’s a Democratic majority if we can’t pass our priority bills? This is unacceptable.” Abolish the filibuster.Replace the parliamentarian.What’s a Democratic majority if we can’t pass our priority bills? This is unacceptable.— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 26, 2021 Biden campaigned on a pledge to increase the minimum wage to $15. Low-wage workers and unions have campaigned for a rise since 2012, and its inclusion in the coronavirus stimulus bill had been seen as a major victory. While the proposal faced universal opposition by Republican senators and skepticism from some Democrats, Senator Bernie Sanders and others were confident that it could be pushed through with a simple majority in the Senate, where the Democrats hold a slim majority. In order to achieve this, the proposal would have to be passed by “budget reconciliation” – a mechanism that allows legislation to bypass the 60% vote bills need to get through the Senate. Late on Thursday, MacDonough ruled that the wage increase did not meet the standards for budget reconciliation. The parliamentarian acts as an impartial judge and has only been removed from office once. MacDonough is well respected by many members of both parties, and the Biden administration seems unlikely to push for her removal. Other progressive Democrats have proposed a less drastic solution – overruling her. “The Senate parliamentarian issues an advisory opinion,” congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said in a tweet. “The VP can overrule them – as has been done before. We should do EVERYTHING we can to keep our promise, deliver a $15 minimum wage, and give 27 million workers a raise.” Sanders, one of the most ardent supporters of a minimum-wage increase, has proposed an alternative plan – imposing penalties and incentives to push companies toward higher wages. “I will be working with my colleagues in the Senate to move forward with an amendment to take tax deductions away from large, profitable corporations that don’t pay workers at least $15 an hour, and to provide small businesses with the incentives they need to raise wages,” Sanders said in a statement. “That amendment must be included in this reconciliation bill.” Sanders’ comments come after a Senate hearing on Thursday where he lambasted the low wages paid by McDonald’s, Walmart and others. Sanders pointed to a government report that found nearly half of workers who make less than $15 an hour rely on public assistance programs that cost taxpayers $107bn each year. The American people are “sick and tired” of subsidizing “starvation wages” at these companies, Sanders said.

  • 16 "Unhealthy" Foods That Aren’t That Bad For You, According To Nutritionists

    Pizza is definitely a go. From Best Products

  • Myanmar's UN ambassador calls on world to condemn military coup

    Myanmar's Ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, on Friday denounced the Feb. 1 military coup, asking member nations to publicly condemn the uprising, The Irrawaddy reports.What he's saying: "The military detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and other political leaders and social activists. Since then, people from all strata of life have come out on the streets all over the country and expressed their disappointment with the military coup," Tun said, in prepared remarks.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free "[T]he people in Myanmar still feel helpless ... we still need strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup."Tun asked all UN members to denounce the coup, to not recognize the military regime, and take "all strongest possible measures" to stop the attacks by Myanmar law enforcement against protesters and end the coup immediately.The big picture: On Friday UN special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener called for a collective "clear signal in support of democracy," Reuters reports."It is important the international community does not lend legitimacy or recognition to this regime,” Schraner Burgener said.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has promised that the international community to enact pressure "to make sure that this coup fails," per Reuters.Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, commented on Tun's actions, saying, "It is impossible to overstate the risks that Myanmar UN ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun just took in the UN General Assembly when (voice cracking) he just now called on world to oppose the military coup."More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free