The story: Iran has warned the US against attacking bases in Syria set up “at the invitation” of Damascus. The alert follows a string of deadly incidents in the war-torn country involving aerial strikes by the US military and Iran-backed armed groups. Amid the rising tensions, US President Joe Biden has asserted that while he does not “seek conflict with Iran,” any attacks on American troops will be met with force.

The coverage: The Pentagon stated on Mar. 23 that US forces in Syria had hit facilities "used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”

• The airstrikes, the Pentagon said, were carried out in response to a drone attack on a US base earlier the same day that killed a contractor and left several American troops injured. US intelligence assessed the drone to be "of Iranian origin."
  
  
• Two days later, on Mar. 25, Biden warned Iran on Mar. 25 that the US would "act forcefully to protect...