The US has pledged to retaliate for an attack which killed its troops in Jordan in any matter it chooses.
Three American troops were killed in a drone attack and more than 40 were wounded last month.
The raid targeted a small desert installation known as Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan near the border with Syria.
Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, said this afternoon that “terrorist groups backed by Iran and funded by Iran” had been ramping up attacks in the Middle East during a “dangerous moment” for the region. However, he stopped short of blaming a particular group for the attack in Jordan.
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He added: “We will respond where we choose, when we choose and how we choose.”
The defence secretary said the Jordan attack targeted an area where US soldiers were sleeping.
Mr Austin added President Biden would “not tolerate” attacks on American troops.
He also stressed the US would seek to avoid a wider regional conflict while taking “necessary” action to protect US interests – including freedom of navigation in the Red Sea near Yemen, where the US and UK have launched airstrikes against Houthi forces targeting commercial shipping.
The response to the Jordan attack would be “multi-tiered”, Mr Austin said, and the US would have the ability to strike back a number of times. But the defence secretary did not specify any targets American forces would hit.
Earlier this week, it was reported that President Biden had decided how the US would respond to the attack.
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