Worried about retaliation, Iran distances itself from US base attack

Iran is engaged in diplomatic efforts to try to deflect blame over last week’s drone attack against a US base on Jordan’s border with Syria, which killed three American soldiers and has renewed concerns about potential spillover from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 

Washington has pointed the finger at pro-Iran Shiite militias in the region and has been weighing options to respond to the attack, which saw the first military casualties Washington has suffered in the fallout of the Gaza war. 

Yet Iran’s envoy to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, denied that Islamic Republic played a role. In a letter to the Security Council on Monday, the Iranian diplomat rejected the US’ allegations as “unfounded,” noting that Tehran was “not responsible for the actions of any individual or group within the region.” Iravani claimed that there was no group “in Iraq, Syria or elsewhere that operates directly or indirectly under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran or acts on its behalf.”

‘Nurturing and arming’