U.S. vows 'necessary actions' but not seeking war with Iran after 3 troops killed in Jordan attack
CBC
U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed on Monday that the United States would take "all necessary actions" to defend its troops after a deadly drone attack in Jordan by Iran-backed militants, even as President Joe Biden's administration stressed it was not seeking a war with Iran.
The attack on Sunday killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded more than 40 troops. It was the first deadly strike against U.S. troops since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October and marks a major escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East.
"Let me start with my outrage and sorrow [for] the deaths of three brave U.S. troops in Jordan and for the other troops who were wounded," Austin said at the Pentagon.
"The president and I will not tolerate attacks on U.S. forces, and we will take all necessary actions to defend the U.S. and our troops," Austin added at the start of meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
"As the president said yesterday, we will respond, and that response could be multi-levelled, come in stages and be sustained over time," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Other officials across the Biden administration said they did not want the situation to escalate.
"We are not seeking a conflict with the regime in the military way," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said, adding that Biden was working his way through response options.
The Pentagon suggested Iran didn't want a war either.
"We certainly don't seek a war, and frankly we don't see Iran wanting to seek a war with the United States," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.
She said the weekend attacks had the "footprints" of the Kataib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades), an Iran-aligned armed group, but the Pentagon had not yet made a final assessment.
The U.S. is trying to determine exactly why the nearly 350 troops at the base in Jordan, known as Tower 22, were unable to stop the drone.
Two officials said a U.S. drone was approaching the base around the same time the attack drone was incoming.
One of the officials said the attack drone was also flying low, factors that may have contributed to it being missed by base defences.
The U.S. military released the names of the victims, the youngest of which was a 23-year-old U.S. Army Reserve specialist, Breonna Alexsondria Moffett.
