Middle East on a knife edge - and Iran is pushing its luck

The world waits to see how America responds after an Iranian-backed group killed three soldiers, with one expert warning: "We are on the edge of a dangerous precipice." Chris Hughes explains.

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Children standing in the rubble of Al-Urube school, which was targeted by Israeli airstrikes on January 31. Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/REX/Shutt​erstock

Increasing attacks by Iran-backed groups on American targets in the Middle East have been worrying the Pentagon for some time.

But the White House failed to act despite wanting to do something to warn off Tehran’s proxies. Behind the scenes, I am told, they have been thrashing out plans for a retaliation.

Until the weekend, months of missile attacks in northern Iraq on US bases have been relatively pain-free and uncostly.

But on Sunday, the Iran-backed network The Islamic Resistance of Iraq hit a base on the Jordanian border with Syria, killing three US soldiers and injuring as many as 40.

The attack on Tower 22, supposedly a logistics base in support of counter-ISIS operations, could prove pivotal and is about to elicit a military response from the US.

There have been early warning signs something like this devastating drone strike would happen for weeks since the October 7 Hamas attacks sparked war with Israel.