Biden faces Iran dilemma after drone attack kills US troops

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is facing growing calls from his Republican opponents in Congress and on the campaign trail to strike Iran directly after the country’s proxy forces were blamed for a deadly attack on a US base in Jordan. 

The Biden administration said that “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq” are responsible for the drone attack on Sunday that killed three US Army soldiers and wounded more than 40 service members at a remote outpost in northeastern Jordan. The Pentagon has not made a final determination but said Monday the attack “has the footprints of Kataib Hezbollah,” an Iraq-based militia that’s closely aligned with Iran. 

Sunday’s attack marked the first time US troops have been killed by an Iran-backed group since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. The escalation puts the Biden administration under pressure to retaliate in a way that deters further attacks without igniting a broader regional war that draws the United States into direct confrontation with Iran. 

“We will respond,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Monday. “And that response could be multi-leveled, come in stages and be sustained over time.”