White House national security spokesman John Kirby reiterated Wednesday that the United States will respond after a drone attack by an Iranian-backed proxy group killed three American soldiers.
President Biden on Tuesday accused Iran of providing weapons to the militants who perpetuated the attacks and said he had decided how to respond, but gave no further details. But with no public action in the days since the attack, a reporter asked Kirby whether the White House had missed an opportunity to show resolve.
“I think we have a pretty good resolution, and as I said the other day, we’re going to respond on our own time and schedule,” Kirby said at his daily White House briefing. said.
“The first thing you see is not the last,” he added.
Iranian proxy drone slipped past US defenses after being mistaken for US drone: official
National Security Council Press Secretary John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing at the White House on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Mandel Gunn/AFP via Getty Images)
Kirby identified the Islamic Resistance Movement of Iraq, a loose coalition of Iranian-backed extremist groups, as the perpetrator of Sunday’s attack on Jordan.
The Pentagon identified those killed in the attack as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia. Special Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia. and Spc. Breonna Alexandria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia. The Army Reserve announced Tuesday that it had posthumously promoted Sanders and Moffett to the rank of sergeant.
In addition to the dead, at least 34 military personnel were injured, including at least eight service members whose injuries required high-level medical treatment from Jordan, but their condition was stable. It was believed that
Kirby remained tight-lipped about details of the planned U.S. response.
Who is the Iranian-backed Islamic Resistance Coalition in Iraq responsible for the deadly drone attack on U.S. troops?
A map showing the location of Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan, near the Syria-Iraq border. (Fox News)
“Let me just say we’re confident in our plan and we’re confident in the response to what we’re planning,” he told reporters.
But he said the president’s decision to move forward was based on consultation with his national security team and was not limited to a “one-off.”
“This will be a response over time,” Kirby said, adding that Biden “will continue to consider our options moving forward, continue to ask tough questions, and continue to engage with our national security team as this progresses.” Ta.
Biden says he has decided to respond to Iranian-backed militia attack that killed three US soldiers in Jordan
The US military base in northeastern Jordan, known as Tower 22, is seen in this satellite photo taken on October 12, 2023. A drone attack on January 28, 2024 killed three US soldiers and injured another. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
According to U.S. military officials, there have been a total of 166 attacks on U.S. military facilities since October 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria, and one in Jordan.
Meanwhile, Yemen-based Houthi militants have been firing on commercial ships in the Red Sea, prompting retaliatory attacks by the United States and its allies.
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On Tuesday, Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq was again targeted by a single rocket, but the attack caused no damage or injuries, US military officials said.
The three soldiers killed in the attack on Jordan were the first U.S. military fatalities due to enemy fire in the Middle East since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas. A contractor also died of a heart attack after the attack on al-Assad in December. Two U.S. Navy SEALs recently went missing while on a mission in the Red Sea and were later confirmed dead.
Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
