Washington: The United States on Wednesday accused the Islamic Resistance in Iraq of carrying out the drone attack that killed three American troops in Jordan, as President Joe Biden is currently weighing options on a response to the strike. The Islamic Resistance is an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias, including Kataib Hezbollah that operate in the Middle East.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Wednesday said the US believes the attack was planned, resourced and facilitated by the Islamic Resistance, adding that Biden "believes that it is important to respond in an appropriate way". He said the US President continued to weigh his options, but "the first thing you see won’t be the last thing", adding it "won’t be a one-off".
This comes after Iran on Wednesday threatened to decisively respond” to any US attack on the Islamic Republic following Biden's promises of 'revenge' after the Jordan drone attack. The US has signalled it is preparing for retaliatory strikes in the Mideast in the wake of the Sunday drone attack that also injured at least 40 troops at Tower 22, a secretive base in northeastern Jordan that’s been crucial to the American presence in neighbouring Syria.
However, concerns remain that any additional American strikes could further inflame a region already roiled by Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea. A US Navy destroyer in the waterway shot down an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the Houthis on Tuesday, the latest attack targeting American forces patrolling the key maritime trade route, officials said.
The US also dismissed a statement by the Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah that announced a suspension of military and security operations against the "occupation forces" to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government. Kirby asserted that the group can’t be taken at face value and added that “they’re not the only group that has been attacking us.”
Iranian Ambassador warns the US
As of Wednesday, Kataib Hezbollah and other Iran-aligned militias had launched 166 attacks on US military installations since October 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and the one in Jordan, according to the US military. The US has struck back at the militias a few times over the past three months in Iraq and Syria.
The Iranian warnings first came from Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York, as per local media reports. He gave a briefing to Iranian journalists on Tuesday and said, "The Islamic Republic would decisively respond to any attack on the country, its interests and nationals under any pretexts."
He described any possible Iranian retaliation as a “strong response,” without elaborating. Iravani also denied that Iran and the US had exchanged any messages over the last few days, either through intermediaries or directly. The Iranian mission to the UN did not respond to requests for comment or elaboration on Wednesday on Iravani’s remarks.
“Sometimes, our enemies raise the threat, and nowadays we hear some threats in between words by American officials,” Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Hossein Salami, who answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said at an event Wednesday. “We tell them that you have experienced us, and we know each other. We do not leave any threat without an answer.”
On Saturday, a general in charge of Iran’s air defences described them as being at their “highest defensive readiness.” That raises concerns for commercial aviation travelling through and over Iran as well. After a US drone strike killed a top general in 2020, Iranian air defences mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board.
Delicate situation in Middle East
On December 26, the US launched strikes on three locations in Iraq used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, and on January 23, the US struck three sites in Iraq, targeting the same militia. After the Jordan attack, the Biden administration is under pressure to respond without further escalating the precarious situation in the Middle East caused by the war in Gaza, which began with Hamas attacking Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages.
Since then, Israeli strikes have killed more than 26,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly 2 million others from their homes, arousing anger throughout the Muslim world. Violence has erupted across the region, with Iran striking targets in Iraq, Pakistan and Syria, and the US carrying out airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels over their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
(with AP inputs)
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