President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he has made a decision on how to respond drone attack It killed three US soldiers and injured dozens of people at a base in northeastern Jordan.
As he left the White House on Tuesday morning, Biden was asked by a reporter whether he had made a decision in response to Sunday’s attack by Iran-backed militants. Biden answered “Yes”.
Biden’s statements followed he promised to take revenge and “to hold all responsible persons to account at a certain time and manner [of] Our choice for the deadly attack that injured more than 30 soldiers.”
When asked if he held Iran responsible for the attack, the president said he did “in the sense that they are giving weapons to the people who did it.”
Attack It was the first US death by armed groups supporting Iran in recent months Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7. A drone packed with explosives detonated near a shelter where some soldiers were sleeping at a logistics support base in northeastern Jordan, two U.S. officials told NBC News. On Sunday, US Central Command said that eight of the wounded had been evacuated to receive higher-level care and were in stable condition.
In a statement on Sunday, the Islamic Resistance of Iraq claimed responsibility for the drone attacks on the Al-Shaddadi base in Syria, the Al-Rukban and Al-Tanf bases on the Syria-Jordan border and the Zevul naval installation in Israel.
It is unclear whether the Islamic Resistance in Iraq was responsible for the attack on US troops in Jordan.
In initial comments about the attack, Biden called for a moment of silence for the “three brave souls” who lost their lives in the attack at a church event in South Carolina.
“We will respond,” Biden said.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the US response to the weekend attack could be “multi-layered” and “could come in phases and be sustained over time.”
“We will respond, we will respond strongly. We will respond at the time and place we choose,” Blinken said at a joint press conference with NATO General Jens Stoltenberg.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday that Biden was working on response options, stressing that the administration “does not want a broader war with Iran.” Kirby added that the US knows that Tehran supports armed groups in the region.
“We know that they’re buying resources, in some cases providing, providing information that allows these groups to do that,” Kirby said. interview on Monday morning’s “Today” show.
“We take it very seriously. We do not want a wider war with Iran. We don’t want more large-scale war in the region, but we have to do our part,” he added.
Members of the House and Senate are expected to receive classified briefings this week on the deadly attack on US troops.
The Biden administration ordered air strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who attacked ships in the Red Sea this month and other Iranian-linked militia groups targeting U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria.
There are MPs on both sides of the aisle required the president to ask Congress vote on a new authorization for the use of military force before taking further action.