NATO Secretary-Basic Jens Stoltenberg and U.S. Secretary of Point out Antony Blinken maintain a press conference at the State Office in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
U.S. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday vowed the U.S. would acquire “all important actions” to defend its troops right after a deadly drone assault in Jordan by Iran-backed militants, even as President Joe Biden’s administration pressured it was not searching for a war with Iran.
The attack on Sunday killed three U.S. troopers and wounded far more than 40 troops. It was the initial fatal strike against U.S. troops due to the fact the Israel-Hamas war erupted in Oct and marks a major escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East.
“Enable me start out with my outrage and sorrow (for) the fatalities of three brave U.S. troops in Jordan and for the other troops who had been wounded,” Austin stated at the Pentagon.
“The president and I will not tolerate attacks on U.S. forces and we will get all necessary steps to protect the U.S. and our troops,” Austin extra at the start of meeting with NATO Secretary Typical Jens Stoltenberg at the Pentagon.
“As the president mentioned yesterday, we will answer and that reaction could be multi-leveled, come in stages and be sustained more than time,” U.S. Secretary of Point out Antony Blinken reported.
But officers throughout the Biden administration mentioned they did not want the circumstance to escalate. The Pentagon prompt Iran didn’t want a war either.
“We certainly really don’t seek out a war and frankly we you should not see Iran seeking to find a war with the United States,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh advised reporters. She additional that the Pentagon thought Iran did not want a war either.
“We are not searching for a conflict with the regime in the army way,” White Home national security spokesman John Kirby reported, adding that Biden was doing the job his way via response possibilities.
The United States is attempting to figure out precisely why the approximately 350 troops at the foundation in Jordan, identified as Tower 22, have been unable to cease the drone.
Two officers explained a U.S. drone was approaching the foundation all over the same time the attack drone was incoming. One of the officers mentioned the attack drone was also traveling reduced, variables that may well have contributed to it becoming missed by base defenses.
The U.S. navy released the names of the victims, the youngest of which was a 23-calendar year-previous Military Reserve specialist, Breonna Alexsondria Moffett.
U.S. troops have been attacked above 160 periods in Iraq, Syria and Jordan given that Oct.7 and warships been attacked in the Pink Sea as well. Houthi fighters in Yemen have been firing drones and missiles at them on the Pink Sea.
The attacks are piling political pressure on Biden to offer a blow straight versus Iran, a step he has been unwilling to take out of worry of igniting a broader war.
Biden achieved with Austin and other users of his national safety group in the White Household Problem Home on Monday morning to examine the latest developments regarding the attack, the White Home said.
The president’s possibilities could incorporate concentrating on Iranian forces exterior or inside of Iran and opting for a extra careful retaliatory attack exclusively in opposition to the Iran-backed militants liable, industry experts say.
“Iran carries on to destabilize the location, this features backing terrorists who assault our ships in the Purple Sea,” Stoltenberg stated.
Conflict spreading
The assault, and any possible U.S. reaction, is probable to supporter fears of broader conflict in the Center East, in which war broke out in Gaza following Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’ raid on Israel on Oct. 7, which killed 1,200 folks.
Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza has killed about 26,000 Palestinians, according to the area health and fitness ministry.
The United States has presently retaliated in Iraq, Syria and Yemen in reaction to preceding assaults by Iran-backed teams.
Singh said the weekend attacks experienced the “footprints” of the Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned armed group, but the Pentagon had not however made a closing assessment.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday he was involved about tensions in the Middle East and urged Iran to de-escalate.
Iran’s minister of intelligence mentioned that regional armed teams aligned with Tehran react to “American aggressors” at their individual discretion.
Industry experts have cautioned that any strikes versus Iranian forces within Iran could pressure Tehran to answer forcefully, escalating the problem in a way that could drag the United States into a important Middle East war.
