Biden lays out plans for 'VERY consistent' revenge on Iranian militia after three US troops killed in drone strike
PRESIDENT Biden is drawing up plans for a “VERY consistent” revenge attack on the Iran-backed militia responsible for the deaths of three US troops.
Saturday drone attack on a US base in Jordan led to the first American deaths from enemy fire since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas – marking a major escalation of the crisis in the Middle East.
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On Monday, Biden held private meetings with his national security team to discuss the “unacceptable” attack — and officials said they are preparing to hit back with force.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby promised there would be a “very consistent response.”
He ruled out the possibility of attacking Iran directly and stated that the US would not “escalate” the conflict.
However, he said: “We will absolutely do whatever it takes to protect ourselves.”
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The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkensaid Biden's response “could be multi-level, occur in phases, and be sustained over time.”
The Pentagon is said to be considering carrying out revenge attacks on Iranian-backed forces in the region. The Telegraph reports.
The US is also said to be debating targeting facilities used by the regime's feared terrorist army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The US currently has 45,000 troops stationed in the Middle East.
The Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group and a nuclear-powered submarine also patrol the troubled Red Sea.
The US has now released the names of the three Army Reserve troops killed in the drone ambush on their Tower 22 outpost near Syria.
Sergeant William Rivers, 46, Specialist Kennedy Sanders, 24, and Specialist Breonna Moffett, 23, were killed in the attack. unprecedented attack on troops' living quarters injuring another 34.
Iran has flatly denied any responsibility for the attack, calling US claims that it was involved a “repetition of baseless accusations”.
Nasser Kanaani, an Iranian ministry spokesman, said: “The groups in the region do not take orders from Iran.
“War is not a solution. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza could lead to the return of peace.”
The Iran-backed Islamist Resistance in Iraq, a loose coalition of Islamist militias opposed to US support for Israel over the war in Gaza, took credit for the attack.
However, Kirby said U.S. officials had not confirmed which Iranian-backed militia was responsible.
On Sunday, Biden pledged that the US will “respond” and “hold all those responsible accountable at a time and in a manner of our choosing.”
He added: “While we are still gathering the facts about this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iranian-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.”
US and British forces are currently battling Iran-backed Houthi rebels who are waging war on commercial shipping in the Red Sea to avenge Israel's offensive in Gaza.
Shortly after the October 7 attacks, a war broke out between Israel and Israel HamasYemen-based militia launched a wave of rocket and drone attacks on all ships they believed to be linked to Israel.
In reality, pirate terror attacks have been largely indiscriminate, turning one of the world's busiest shipping lanes into a war zone.
A US-led naval coalition has responded by aggressively patrolling the Red Sea, and US and British forces have attacked Houthi military sites in Yemen to keep the vital trade route open.
It comes as Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond was forced to defend himself against a Houthi drone ambush on Saturday.
Britain's Ministry of Defense said it had “successfully repulsed” the Houthi attack using the Sea Viper missile, marking only the third time a Type 45 destroyer has deployed the devastating weapons.
Minister of Defence Grant Shapps said on Sunday that Britain “remains undeterred” by the drone strike.
Only a few weeks ago the same warship was hit in what Shapps called largest attack yet by the Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea.
Last Friday A A burning British oil tanker was rescued off the coast of Yemen after it was hit by a missile.
The increasingly emboldened Houthis claimed responsibility for the chilling revenge attack on the Marlin Luanda ship, which went up in flames in the Gulf of Aden.
In fact, the rebel group has been mocking the West by organizing tours aboard the captured British tanker, the Milky Way Leader.
On November 19, Houthi gunmen jumped from helicopters and attacked the Container ship chartered by Japantaking the entire crew hostage.
The militants – who said they were acting in “solidarity” with people in the besieged Gaza Strip – later sailed it back to Yemen and opened it up as a designated “tourist cruise ship”.
For about a dollar a trip, groups of terror-supporting visitors can board wooden boats five times a week to marvel at the hijacked aircraft carrier.
And all this time, the Houthis have not released any information about the fate of their 25 international crew members.
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