White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. could pursue a
“tiered” response to the Iranian-backed groups responsible for the Jordan attacks.
“Not just a single action but potentially multiple actions over a period of time,” Kirby told reporters.
The administration has not detailed the exact U.S. response yet, but a U.S. official told ABC News it would include “deliberate strikes on facilities that enabled these attacks” on American forces.
Three Army soldiers were killed Sunday when an Iranian-backed group flew an explosive suicide drone into the U.S. base in Jordan, sparking a wave of grief across the U.S. and calls for a forceful response.
The Pentagon says the group responsible is most likely
Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group in Iraq, but has not reached a final determination.
Iran has denied responsibility, claiming its sponsored groups act of their own accord, but the U.S. says Tehran is broadly complicit for the actions of its proxies.
Any U.S. response is likely to trigger more violence, as Iranian-backed groups have not backed down from previous American retaliation.
Still, Biden said he does not want a wider war.
“I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East,” Biden told reporters. “That’s not what I’m looking for.”
Iranian-backed militia groups have launched more than
160 attacks since October on U.S. bases in Iraq, Syria and Jordan.
And the Iranian-sponsored Houthis in Yemen have attacked commercial shipping around the Red Sea 36 times since November.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Biden must target Iranian military leaders to deter Tehran.
“He needs to go after the leadership there, those that are making the decisions,” she said. “That’s what leaves them flat-footed.”
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
