President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday he has made a decision about the US response to the drone strike that killed three US service members and injured dozens in Jordan.
Asked by CNN’s Arlette Saenz whether he has decided how to respond, Biden said, “Yes,” but declined to provide further details.
Three US Army soldiers were killed and more than 30 service members were injured in a drone attack this weekend on a small US outpost in Jordan, the first time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war.
Biden had warned in a statement Sunday that the US will respond in a “time and manner of our choosing” as he weighs how to deter future attacks without escalating the conflict. US officials on Monday said that the American response was likely to be more powerful than previous US strikes in Iraq and Syria against Iranian interests, but they have suggested it is unlikely the US will strike within Iran.
Biden said Tuesday as he prepared to depart for a fundraising swing in south Florida that he holds Iran responsible for the attack, which CNN has reported was carried out by suspected Iranian proxy forces.
“I do hold them responsible in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it,” he said.
Biden said, “We’ll see,” when asked by Saenz whether the expected US response will deter future attacks.
And the president reiterated that he is hoping to deter a broader conflict in the Middle East, saying, “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for.”
