The U.S. response to last Sunday's drone strike in Jordan that killed and injured U.S. service members will be stronger than previous U.S. retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria, officials told CNN. But the Pentagon and the White House are careful not to telegraph. Administration's plan.
President Joe Biden is under increasing pressure to respond in a way that stops these attacks once and for all. Iranian-backed militants have targeted U.S. military facilities in Iraq and Syria more than 160 times since October, and several Republican lawmakers have called for the U.S. to send a clear message by striking directly inside Iran.
But the Biden administration's biggest challenge now is how to respond to drone strikes, the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in the region since the Abbey Gate bombing near the end of the withdrawal from Afghanistan killed 13 U.S. troops. Regional war.
The United States has carried out several airstrikes targeting Iranian proxy weapons depots in Iraq and Syria in recent months. To date, none of these attacks have deterred the militants. Militants have carried out 165 attacks in the region since October, wounding more than 120 U.S. troops.
Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling said the deaths of U.S. soldiers “clearly crossed a red line for the president,” and officials and analysts alike are hoping for a stronger response that is not necessarily limited to one country or one day. But officials said a U.S. attack inside Iran was unlikely.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said conditions in the Middle East are as dangerous as they have been in the region “at least since 1973, and probably even before that.”
Read more about a possible U.S. response.