Biden says he's chosen response to deaths of U.S. forces in Jordan

Jan. 30 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden said he has decided his response to the drone attack that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan.

Reporters asked Biden as he departed the White House Tuesday if he had decided on his response to last weekend's attack. The president answered "yes" but did not go into further detail.

Biden said he holds Iran responsible for the attack "in the sense that they're supplying the weapons to the people who did it," but also stressed he is not looking for a wider war in the Middle East.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for multiple drone strikes in Syria and Jordan. It is unclear, however, if the rebel group was responsible for the death of the U.S. troops in Jordan.

U.S. Central Command had said the drone strike hit a U.S. logistics support base at Tower 22 of the Jordanian Defense Network in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border. Some 350 U.S. troops are stationed there to support coalition forces fighting the Islamic State.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a response could be "multileveled" and "come in stages and be sustained over time."

The president has vowed to respond in a "time and manner of our choosing" to the attack, which is the first U.S. military casualty tied to the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel.

Biden met with members of his national security team Monday. While officials did not disclose the options Biden was considering, targeting Iranian personnel in Syria or Iraq or hitting Iranian naval assets were on the table.

U.S. troops have come under fire from Iranian-backed groups more than 160 times since October. Republicans have called for more aggression from the Biden administration in the wake of this most recent attack.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had said the United States must send a "crystal clear" message that attacks on U.S. troops would not be tolerated.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., meanwhile called on Biden to strike key targets in Iran, "not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces but as deterrence against future aggression."