U.S. strikes Iran-backed forces in Iraq, Syria; Japan sends warships to the Gulf

The United States will continue to confront Iran and its proxies for its attacks on American forces in the Middle East, Trump administration officials warned. The warning came after U.S. forces carried out airstrikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria on Dec. 29. “We will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take actions that put American men and women in jeopardy,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after briefing President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. U.S. F-15 fighter jets bombed five bases used by Kataib Hizbullah, a pro-Iranian Shi’ite Muslim terror group which straddles the boundary between Syria and Iraq, and is…