US President Joe Biden has announced that he has made a decision on how the United States will respond to a drone strike that killed three American troops in Jordan.
President Biden emphasized that “we don’t need a wider war” in the Middle East, as he prepared to leave the White House for fundraisers in Florida.
The drone strike took place at a US military base and was claimed by an Iran-backed militia group. Dozens more were injured in the strike near the Syrian border, marking the first time US soldiers were killed by enemy fire in the region since the Israel Gaza war erupted on 7 October.
Iran has denied any involvement in the attack, but Mr Biden stated on Tuesday morning that “I do hold them [Iran] responsible in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it.”
The attack targeted a US military base known as Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan, where about 350 US forces are stationed to support the coalition to defeat the Islamic State, according to US Central Command.
Senior officials have reported that the enemy drone struck while an American drone was returning to the base from a mission. The base’s air defense auto-response features were turned off to avoid shooting down the US drone, leaving no warning for troops who were reportedly still in their sleeping quarters at the time of the attack.
In recent months, several US bases in the Middle East have been attacked by militias trained, funded, and equipped by Iran. President Biden has a number of options for responding to the attack, including retaliatory strikes on Iran-allied bases and commanders.
The US could also target senior commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps in Iraq or Syria, though such a move would be viewed as an escalation in the conflict.
These events signal an escalation and tension in the region and is something worth monitoring closely in the days and weeks ahead.
