Biden warns Iran to ‘be careful’ after US strike

President Joe Biden said that Iran cannot act with “impunity” and warned Iran to “be careful” after a US air strike on Iranian-backed militia site in Syria.

Asked by reporters traveling with him in Texas what message he was trying to send to Iran with the air strike, Biden said: “You can’t act with impunity”.

Biden paused and then added, “be careful”.

The US president’s remarks came as he was reviewing a uniformed medical team at a public vaccination site at NRG Park, Houston’s major sports venue.

The US military had carried out measured attacks in eastern Syria used by Iran-backed militias, in response to rocket attacks against US targets in Iraq. The air raid was the first military strike ordered by Biden since he became president.

The strikes drew sharp criticism from Syria and Iran. A Pentagon spokesman said they were “deliberate” and intended to “de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq”.

Biden had travelled to Texas on Friday with plans to visit emergency centres that dealt with the fallout from a severe winter storm that left millions without power or clean water for days, and killed at least two dozen.

Speaking at the vaccination centre at NRG Park, Biden said his administration is working to open more such sites to deliver millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Americans.

“We’re working with governors across the country to stand up and lend federal support to hundreds of vaccination centres, from stadiums like here, to community centers, to houses of worship to large parking lots,” Biden said.

Biden and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, landed in Houston early on Friday afternoon, where the president met Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to discuss the recovery from last week’s storm.

They then travelled to Houston TranStar, a Department of Transportation hub where the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Communications Center is found.

On the ground in Texas with ⁦@POTUS⁩ who is getting an update at the Harris County Emergency Operations Center on storm response pic.twitter.com/8D9TgSVjhm

— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) February 26, 2021

The disaster has been a test of Biden’s pledge to work for all Americans to help unify the country. Abbott initially did not recognise Democrat Biden’s November election victory over former President Donald Trump. Texas state officials lost a court bid in December to overturn the results, which Trump has falsely claimed were tainted by widespread fraud.

While there, Biden and Abbott were given a briefing by Bob Fenton, the acting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator, according to pool reports

Texas Senator John Cornyn, who was at the emergency operations centre, told reporters he was happy to see Biden.

“The governor and Senator Cruz and I asked for a declaration from the federal government which provides access to public and private assistance through FEMA. That’s going to be important for our recovery.”

Last week, Abbott asked the FEMA and Biden to issue a major disaster declaration for all of the state’s 254 counties.

Biden signed an emergency declaration on February 20, for 77 counties, adding 31 more on Monday and signalling he was open to increasing the number.

While much of the rest of the US features electricity systems that are interconnected, allowing power to cross state lines, Texas has long stood out for having its own grid, though it can transfer small amounts of power to the eastern US power grid and Mexico’s power grid.

The historic storm was a huge challenge to the state’s energy system, with millions losing power for days. The state’s Republican leaders have come under fire for not heeding warnings that the Texas power grid needed significant upgrades to defend against deep freezes.

Calls for weatherproofing are growing louder, with members of the Biden administration floating incentives for Texas to retrofit its gas lines, power plants and wind turbines.

When asked about these calls, Cornyn told reporters: “We ought to listen to anybody with a good idea and try to come up with ways to prevent this from happening again.”