US President Joe Biden has announced his administration’s response to a drone attack by Iran-backed militants on a US base in Jordan, which killed three American soldiers and wounded a dozen others. The attack was the first to take the lives of US service members in the Middle East since Israel’s war with Hamas began in Gaza on October 7.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group for Tehran-backed militias, claimed responsibility for the attack. The Pentagon claims the attack has the “footprints” of Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah. Biden said that the response will “we’ll see” if it deters Iran. Iran-backed groups have launched over 160 strikes on American military facilities in the region, despite retaliatory attacks from Washington.
Washington is not seeking more conflict in the Middle East, as President Biden has stated. Instead, the US aims to deter further actions by Iran and its proxies while avoiding an all-out war that could spin out of control.
The National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stated that the guiding principle is to degrade the groups’ capabilities to attack American troops and facilities while sending a strong signal to their backers in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Biden’s order will be a “tiered approach” encompassing potentially multiple actions, ensuring the protection of US troops and facilities.
