Iran denies involvement in drone attack that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran has denied involvement in a drone attack on a US base near Jordan's border with Syria that killed three US troops.

Iranian authorities on Monday denied being involved in a drone strike on a U.S. military base in Jordan that killed three American soldiers and injured 25 after President Joe Biden blamed “radical Iran-backed militants” for carrying out the attacks and promised a response.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told the state-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency that “resistance groups in the region do not take orders from…Iran in their decisions and actions.”

Kanaani said Iran isn’t involved in the militants’ decision on how “they support the Palestinian nation or defend themselves and the people of their countries in the face of any aggression and occupation.”

Despite denying involvement, the spokesperson said the militant group’s attacks were a response to “war crimes and genocide” in Gaza.

The Iranian official denounced what he said were “baseless accusations” and without naming the country appeared to accuse Israel of trying to drag the U.S. “into a new conflict in the region and provoking it to intensify the crisis.”

Aside from the U.S., British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also blamed the attack on “Iran-aligned militia groups” and urged Iran to “de-escalate.”

Speaking at an event in South Carolina, President Joe Biden said: “We had a tough day last night in the Middle East. We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases…and we shall respond.”

Sunday’s drone strike targeted American troops based in Tower 22, a small military outpost in northeast Jordan, near the country’s borders with Iraq and Syria.

Satellite view of the U.S. military outpost known as Tower 22, in Rukban, Rwaished District, Jordan October 12, 2023

Aside from the three deaths, at least 25 were injured, and Reuters reported 34 soldiers on the base were being treated for possible traumatic brain injuries.

In a White House statement, Biden said facts about the attack were still being gathered, but “we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.” The president’s statement added: “Have no doubt — we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.”

The attack raises the possibility of a direct confrontation between Iran and the U.S., and an escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict into a broader regional war in the Middle East, two things the Biden administration has been desperately trying to avoid.

The president now faces pressure from the Republicans, who are demanding retaliation against the Iranian military and its leadership. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the U.S. must: “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.”

Several other GOP lawmakers also chimed in, urging the White House to take “serious action” against Iran.