Biden's Syria, Iraq strikes driven by US electoral agenda, Russia says

Russia accused US President Joe Biden of carrying out strikes in Iraq and Syria to boost his image as the presidential election campaign "is heating up" - not in retaliation for a deadly attack on US soldiers.

US began the airstrikes on Friday against dozens of targets linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and allied groups after three US soldiers were killed in Jordan in an attack that Washington blames on Iranian-backed groups.

On Monday Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, at a meeting of the Security Council on the strikes which was requested by Moscow, said there was no justification for the US action.

"We see in these 'flex their muscles' attempts, first of all, a desire to influence the domestic political landscape in America, a desire to somehow correct the disastrous image of the current American administration on the international arena as the presidential election campaign is heating up," he said.

Biden trailing behind Trump

Biden faces significant challenges as he prepares for re-election, according to a recent NBC News poll. The poll shows Biden trailing behind Donald Trump in key policy areas like the economy and immigration, and Trump also leads in terms of perceived competence and effectiveness.

Biden's approval rating has dropped to its lowest point, and his handling of the Gaza War is also criticised by voters.

US voters will go to the polls in November to elect a president for the next four years.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Nebenzia's remarks about Biden.

Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood justified the US strikes in Syria and Iraq under Article 51 of the founding UN Charter, which covers the individual or collective right of states to self-defense against armed attack.

He said that the strikes in Syria and Iraq were a "separate and distinct" operation from US and British strikes against the Houthis in Yemen in response to the group's targeting of shipping in the Red Sea.

The Pentagon on Monday said it was not aware of any Iranian deaths in the recent strikes. Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani condemned the US action as "illegitimate, illegal, and unjustified."

"All of the resistance groups in the region are independent," he told the 15-member UN Security Council on Monday.

"Any attempt to attribute these actions to Iran or its Armed forces is misleading, baseless, and unacceptable. Iran never seeks to contribute to the spillover in the region."