President Joe Biden, in response to a drone strike that claimed the lives of three American soldiers and wounded several others at a military base near the Syrian border in northeast Jordan, addressed the nation during an appearance in South Carolina.
Expressing grief over the loss of the soldiers, Biden said, "We had a tough day last night in the Middle East. We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases, and we shall respond." Biden condemned the attack as "despicable and wholly unjust" and assured that the United States "will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing."
The targeted military base, the Tower 22 outpost, housed approximately 350 U.S. military personnel involved in the coalition against ISIS. While the U.S. has refrained from direct strikes on Iran, it has been actively targeting Iranian-backed militias in response to various attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan.
The U.S. National Security Council, in the aftermath of the strike, emphasized that the country is "not looking for a war with Iran." John Kirby, the spokesman for the National Security Council, stated, "We'll keep looking at the options... We want these attacks to stop." Iran distanced itself from the incident, dismissing any accusation of involvement in the soldiers' deaths as a "baseless" conspiracy.
As the U.S. investigates the responsibility for the drone attack, there is a belief that the attacking group may be supported by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asserted that the U.S. would "take all necessary actions to defend the U.S. and our troops" in response to the escalating tensions in the region.
The geopolitical landscape is further intensified by conflicting interests and responses from various parties. Top Republicans in Congress have demanded direct strikes on Iran in retaliation. Senator Lindsey Graham urged, "Hit Iran now. Hit them hard," while Senator John Cornyn wrote, "Target Tehran." Former President Donald Trump, in a statement on his social media platform Truth Social, blamed the attack on President Joe Biden's "weakness and surrender" but did not prescribe specific actions.
Jonathan Panikoff, a former senior intelligence official now at the Atlantic Council, emphasized Iran's calculated approach, conveying that Tehran might be betting on U.S. reluctance to respond forcefully. He remarked, "The facts on the ground demonstrate that avoiding the regional conflict is becoming harder regardless of U.S. desires, and the U.S. is now a prime target."
