As the Biden administration continues to “evaluate” its response to last Sunday’s deadly drone attack on a military base in Jordan, without getting embroiled in a protracted conflict, political debate in Washington intensifies over the responsibility for policies towards Iran. Fueled by an impending election year, all indications point to another round of contention between Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Washington has blamed Iran-aligned factions for the attack but also stated that Iran ultimately bears responsibility due to its support for these factions. This marks the first attack resulting in the deaths of U.S. soldiers in the Middle East since the start of the war between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in October.
“ABC News” reported that U.S. officials have approved plans to launch strikes over the course of days in Iraq and Syria against targets that include Iranian individuals and facilities.
Later, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the U.S. response to the attack on the American base in Jordan would be “multi-dimensional,” emphasizing that the United States has the ability to respond multiple times. Austin added that those responsible for this attack would be held accountable, stating that actions matter, and the future would reveal what happens, in response to the announcement by the “Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq,” which claimed responsibility for the attack, suspending its attacks.
While it remains unclear how much Iran knew about the attack on our forces in Jordan, Austin recognized the Middle East as a “dangerous” region at the moment and urged Iran to stop supplying the Houthis with weapons. He emphasized that Washington does not seek to escalate the conflict but will take necessary actions to defend itself, while noting that there is no comprehensive conflict between Israel and the Lebanese “Hezbollah” group.
Officials told “ABC News” that “the multiple targets will be deliberate against facilities that facilitated these attacks,” without specifying whether any of the targets are inside or outside Iran.
Officials stated that weather conditions play a significant role in the timing of the planned strikes, as Washington prefers to carry them out when visibility is clear to avoid civilian casualties.
The American network also quoted retired U.S. Army General Robert Abrams as saying that the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), overseeing forces in the region, would attempt to present President Biden with multiple military strike options.
Abrams added, “Biden needs to send a message, but he also does not want to escalate tensions… This is the difficult conversation taking place now between the Pentagon and the White House.”
While the United States is striving to avoid further involvement in the region and maintain control over the situation, senior officials in the Biden administration exchange criticisms with current advisers and former officials in Trump’s administration about the reasons behind the attack, which claimed the lives of 3 soldiers and injured over 40, marking the largest loss suffered by U.S. forces in several years.
According to “Politico,” there are many military and political decisions that led to this attack, from Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement and his decision to assassinate the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, to Biden partially lifting some sanctions on Tehran and his limited response to Iran-backed attacks on U.S. forces.
The newspaper believes that all these actions encouraged Iran or prevented it from entering into a war, according to the teams of Trump and Biden, both of whom defended the approach taken by the two administrations.
