New Delhi: US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that he has decided how to respond to a drone attack that claimed the lives of US service members in Jordan at the weekend.
As he embarked on a campaign trip to Florida, Biden acknowledged the challenge of punishing Iran-backed militias responsible for the attack without escalating tensions into a broader conflict, reported news agency Reuters.
While speaking to reporters outside the White House, Biden did not elaborate on his decision, which came after consultations with top advisers at the White House. He emphasized the United States’ reluctance to engage in a wider war in the Middle East, echoing sentiments expressed by other officials who underscored the nation’s desire to avoid conflict with Iran.
Although Biden has been weighing his options, including retaliatory strikes, the timing of the response has remained uncertain.
“I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for,” remarked Biden, highlighting his commitment to finding a resolution that avoids further escalation in the region, Reuters reported.
Biden replied “yes” when asked if he had decided how to respond to the attacks.
Asked if Iran was responsible, Biden added, “I do hold….them responsible in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons” to those who carried out the attacks, according to the Reuters report.
Three US service members were killed and at least 34 wounded in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, officials said on Sunday.
American forces in the Middle East have been attacked more than 150 times by Iran-backed forces in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and off the coast of Yemen since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October. But until Sunday’s attack on a remote outpost known as Tower 22 near Jordan’s northeastern border with Syria, the strikes had not killed US troops nor wounded so many.
