President Joe Biden said on Tuesday (30) that he has decided what the response will be to the deadly drone attack on United States forces in Jordan, but reiterated that he does not seek a broader war in the Middle East.
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As a result, facing growing pressure in an election year, Biden said he holds Iran responsible for supplying weapons to the people who carried out the attack that killed three American soldiers.
It is worth remembering that Biden, who was campaigning in Florida, has already blamed Iranian-backed militias for the first fatal attack on US troops in the region since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October.
“Yes,” Biden responded to reporters at the White House when asked if he had already decided on his response, but did not give further details about the actions he would take. “I don’t believe we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for,” he added when asked about fears that taking on Iran could spark a wider conflict.
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Republicans have urged the 81-year-old Democrat to punish Iran for the drone attack on a US military facility near the Jordan-Syria border on Sunday, and some have even called for direct strikes on Iran itself.
Furthermore, asked whether Iran was to blame for the attack on Jordan, Biden responded, “I hold them responsible in the sense that they are providing the weapons to the people who did it.”
Biden added that “we will have that discussion” when asked whether a direct link with Iran has been established.