
The escalation of attacks on US troops and merchant ships, as well as the fact that the incidents often involve Iran and its proxies, are raising new concerns that Israel's war in Gaza could expand into a regional conflict with serious political and economic consequences.
With US service personnel increasingly in the dangerous line of fire and US and allied naval assets on high alert following multiple drone strikes, the worsening situation is leading to a tense period for the White House.
The increase in the possibility of losses among American troops and the deterioration of the security situation from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, and from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Israel, constitutes a new unwanted crisis, especially before the election year in which the president Joe Biden is seeking re-election.
Israel's warnings that its war against Hamas in Gaza will drag on for months, despite US pressure to de-escalate the conflict, threaten to increase the chances of the war spiraling out of control and draw America even further in, experts say. in its vortex.
Initial fears that a regional war might erupt after Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel and the launch of its bloody campaign in Gaza did not immediately materialize despite sporadic exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. considered one of the most dangerous fronts in the area.
However, the pace of the attacks and the escalation of the situation in recent days has brought back fears of a greater outbreak of tensions, which was also seen in Biden's order to attack facilities used by fighters of the pro-Iranian Kataib Hezbollah militia in Iraq, which the US accused of injuring three American soldiers at the Erbil airbase.