ABC NEWS
President Joe Biden said Tuesday he’s decided how the U.S. is going to respond to the drone attack on a U.S. base in Jordan by Iran-backed militants that killed three American soldiers.
“Have you made a decision how you’ll respond to the attack,” Biden was asked leaving the White House as headed fo fundraisers in Florida..
“Yes,” he said.
Retaliatory strikes by the U.S. so far have yet to deter any of these Iranian-backed groups in the region. Asked if this upcoming response will actually deter them, he said, “we’ll see.”
He reiterated that the U.S. is not looking for a “wider war in the Middle East,” explaining, “that’s not what I’m looking for.”
And the president wouldn’t go as far as saying Iran is directly responsible for the attack, but that it is responsible for arming these proxy groups.
“I do hold them responsible in that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it.”
Biden is facing increasing pressure to forcefully respond to Sunday’s drone attack without deepening the conflict in the Middle East.
“We are not looking for a war with Iran,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at Monday’s White House press briefing.
“We are not seeking a conflict with the regime in the military way,” Kirby continued. “We’re not looking to escalate here. This attack over the weekend was escalatory, make no mistake about it. And it requires a response.”
The president vowed Sunday that the U.S. would respond, and Monday met with members of his national security team in the White House Situation Room to discuss the latest developments on the attack in Jordan near the borders with Syria and Iraq, according to the White House…
