The US president says he doesn’t want to set off a regional conflict however will reply to the primary deadly assault on US troops.
President Joe Biden says he has selected a response to a lethal drone strike on US forces in Jordan, however confused he doesn’t search a wider conflict within the Center East.
“Yes,” Biden advised journalists on the White Home on Tuesday when requested if he had selected his response to the strike that killed three US troops at a navy advance submit close to the Jordan-Syria border on Sunday.
The US president didn’t elaborate on his determination, which got here after consultations with prime advisers on the White Home.
John Kirby, the White Home nationwide safety spokesperson, advised reporters on board Air Drive One as Biden flew to Florida that the US may reply greater than as soon as.
“It’s fair for you to expect that we will respond in an appropriate fashion and it is very possible that what you’ll see is a tiered approach here, not just a single action, but essentially multiple actions,” he mentioned.
The president beforehand accused Iran-backed teams of finishing up the primary deadly assault on US forces within the Center East because the begin of Israel’s conflict on Gaza in October.
Whereas he didn’t give additional particulars on what actions he would take, when requested about considerations that taking up Iran may inflame a broader battle he mentioned, “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for.”
Requested whether or not Iran was guilty for the assault on Jordan, Biden replied, “I do hold them responsible, in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it.”
He added that “we’ll have that discussion” when requested if a direct hyperlink to Iran had been established.
Tehran has mentioned it had nothing to do with the assault and denied US accusations it supported armed teams behind the strike.
The 81-year-old US president is dealing with rising stress throughout an election yr, with Republicans urging the Democrat to punish Iran for the strike, some going so far as to name for direct assaults on Iran itself.
Biden’s administration believes hitting Iranian territory may trigger the area to erupt, with strikes on Iranian-backed militias and probably on Iranian Revolutionary Guard amenities in different nations extra possible, US media reported.
The White Home on Monday promised a “very consequential” response.
Tensions have escalated sharply within the area following the Jordan assault, already unstable after the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel and Israel’s devastating response in Gaza.
Fears have grown about the potential for a regional conflagration amid assaults from Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Pink Sea transport and near-daily rounds of cross-border hearth between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
In latest weeks, Iran-backed armed teams have intensified their assaults on US navy bases in Iraq and neighbouring Syria in response to the Israeli navy marketing campaign within the Gaza Strip.
The Iran-backed teams have described their strikes as retaliation for Washington’s assist for the Israeli conflict on Gaza and say they goal to push US forces out of the area.
The US, in latest months, has struck targets in Iraq, Syria and Yemen to answer assaults on American forces within the area and to discourage Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from persevering with to threaten industrial transport within the Pink Sea.
The Kremlin, an in depth ally of Tehran, on Tuesday known as for a de-escalation within the Center East.
“In our view, the overall level of tension is very alarming and, on the contrary, now is the time for steps to de-escalate tensions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised reporters in Moscow.
“This is the only thing that can help us prevent further spreading of the conflict, especially the Middle East conflict, and somehow achieve de-confliction and de-escalation.”
China additionally warned towards a “cycle of retaliation” within the Center East.
Beijing has shut ties with each Russia and Iran, with all three in search of to problem what they are saying is Washington’s world hegemony.