© Reuters. U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin holds a bilateral assembly with NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg on the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis
By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday vowed the U.S. would take “all obligatory actions” to defend its troops after a lethal drone assault in Jordan by Iran-backed militants, at the same time as President Joe Biden’s administration burdened it was not looking for a warfare with Iran.
The assault on Sunday killed three U.S. troopers and wounded greater than 40 troops. It was the primary lethal strike in opposition to U.S. troops for the reason that Israel-Hamas warfare erupted in October and marks a serious escalation in tensions which have engulfed the Center East.
“Let me begin with my outrage and sorrow (for) the deaths of three courageous U.S. troops in Jordan and for the opposite troops who had been wounded,” Austin mentioned on the Pentagon.
“The president and I can’t tolerate assaults on U.S. forces and we’ll take all obligatory actions to defend the U.S. and our troops,” Austin added at the beginning of assembly with NATO Secretary Normal Jens Stoltenberg on the Pentagon.
“Because the president mentioned yesterday, we’ll reply and that response may very well be multi-leveled, are available in levels and be sustained over time,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned.
However officers throughout the Biden administration mentioned they didn’t need the scenario to escalate. The Pentagon recommended Iran did not desire a warfare both.
“We actually do not search a warfare and admittedly we do not see Iran wanting to hunt a warfare with the US,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh informed reporters. She added that the Pentagon believed Iran didn’t desire a warfare both.
“We aren’t looking for a battle with the regime within the navy manner,” White Home nationwide safety spokesman John Kirby (NYSE:) mentioned, including that Biden was working his manner by way of response choices.
The US is making an attempt to find out precisely why the almost 350 troops on the base in Jordan, often called Tower 22, had been unable to cease the drone.
Two officers mentioned a U.S. drone was approaching the bottom across the similar time the assault drone was incoming. One of many officers mentioned the assault drone was additionally flying low, elements which will have contributed to it being missed by base defenses.
The U.S. navy launched the names of the victims, the youngest of which was a 23-year-old Military Reserve specialist, Breonna Alexsondria Moffett.
U.S. troops have been attacked over 160 occasions in Iraq, Syria and Jordan since Oct.7 and warships been attacked within the Pink Sea as effectively. Houthi fighters in Yemen have been firing drones and missiles at them on the Pink Sea.
The assaults are piling political stress on Biden to deal a blow immediately in opposition to Iran, a step he has been reluctant to take out of concern of igniting a broader warfare.
Biden met with Austin and different members of his nationwide safety staff within the White Home State of affairs Room on Monday morning to debate the newest developments relating to the assault, the White Home mentioned.
The president’s choices might embody focusing on Iranian forces exterior or inside Iran and choosing a extra cautious retaliatory assault solely in opposition to the Iran-backed militants accountable, specialists say.
“Iran continues to destabilize the area, this contains backing terrorists who assault our ships within the Pink Sea,” Stoltenberg mentioned.
CONFLICT SPREADING
The assault, and any potential U.S. response, is prone to fan fears of wider battle within the Center East, the place warfare broke out in Gaza after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’ raid on Israel on Oct. 7, which killed 1,200 individuals.
Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza has killed over 26,000 Palestinians, in line with the native well being ministry.
The US has already retaliated in Iraq, Syria and Yemen in response to earlier assaults by Iran-backed teams.
Singh mentioned the weekend assaults had the “footprints” of the Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned armed group, however the Pentagon had not but made a remaining evaluation.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak mentioned on Monday he was involved about tensions within the Center East and urged Iran to de-escalate.
Iran’s minister of intelligence mentioned that regional armed teams aligned with Tehran reply to “American aggressors” at their very own discretion.
Consultants have cautioned that any strikes in opposition to Iranian forces inside Iran might power Tehran to reply forcefully, escalating the scenario in a manner that might drag the US into a serious Center East warfare.