Biden says he has made a decision about responding to the killing of American soldiers in Jordan

President Joe Biden said Tuesday he has made a decision on how to respond to the drone attack that killed three American soldiers and wounded dozens of others at a base in northeastern Jordan.

As he left the White House on Tuesday morning, a reporter asked Biden if he had made a decision in response to the attack by Iranian-backed militants on Sunday. Biden replied: “Yes.”

Biden's statements came after he pledged to respond and “hold all officials accountable in a timely and appropriate manner.” [of] Our Choice” for the deadly attack that injured more than 30 soldiers.

When asked if he held Iran responsible for the attack, the president said he did so “in the sense that they are supplying weapons to the people who did this.”

This attack was the first American killed by Iranian-backed armed groups in months since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7. The drone loaded with explosives exploded near a shelter where some soldiers were sleeping at a logistical support base in northeastern Jordan, two days ago. US officials told NBC News. US Central Command said on Sunday that eight of the injured had been evacuated from the country to receive high-level care and were in stable condition.

Iran's mission to the United Nations denied the country's involvement in the drone strike.

The mission said in a statement published by the official Iranian news agency on Monday: “Iran has nothing to do with the attack on the American base.” Reuters reported.

She added: “There is a conflict between American forces and resistance factions in the region, which are responding with retaliatory attacks.”

In a statement on Sunday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for drone attacks on the Al-Shaddadi base in Syria, the Al-Rukban and Al-Tanf bases on the Syrian-Jordanian border, and the Zevulon naval facility in Israel. It is unclear whether the Islamic Resistance in Iraq was responsible for the attack on American forces in Jordan.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One that Biden spoke to family members of service members killed in Sunday's attack and will attend the transfer of their bodies in Dover on Friday.

The president told the families that he was “grateful for their time, and expressed to them how proud we all are of their service, and how we grieve and grieve their loss, and make sure that those families know that this service is not only a sacrifice, they will be honored and respected but that they will continue to have the support they need as they work.” What no family wants to go through.

“No Blue Star family wants to become a Gold Star family,” he added.

In initial statements about the attack, Biden asked for a moment of silence at a South Carolina church event for the “three brave souls” who lost their lives in the attack.

“We will respond,” Biden said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US response to the attack over the weekend could be “multi-layered” and “come in stages and continue over time.”

“We will respond, we will respond strongly. We will respond at a time and place of our choosing,” Blinken said during a joint press conference with NATO General Jens Stoltenberg.

Kirby said on Monday that Biden was examining his options for retaliation, and stressed that the administration “does not want a broader war with Iran.” Kirby added that the United States knew that Tehran supported armed groups in the region.

“We know that they are providing the resources and, in some cases, providing the information that allows these groups to do this,” Kirby said during an interview with the Today show on Monday morning.

“We take this seriously. We do not want a wider war with Iran. We do not want a wider war in the region, but we have to do what we have to do,” he added.

Members of the House and Senate are expected to receive classified briefings on the deadly attack on US forces this week.

The Biden administration ordered air strikes this month on Houthi rebels in Yemen who launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea and on other Iranian-affiliated militia groups targeted for their attacks on US personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria.

Lawmakers from both parties have demanded that the president ask Congress to vote on a new authorization for the use of military force before taking further action.