Biden vows response after 3 US troops killed from drone attack in Jordan
Former U.S. Navy SEAL Jonathan Gilliam joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss what he sees as the 'common denominator' to the Biden administration's response to attacks in the Middle East and how it will serve as a 'litmus test' in 2024.
Iran is claiming that accusations of its involvement in an attack that left three U.S. service members dead in Jordan over the weekend are "baseless."
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani also claimed that "resistance groups" in the region do not take orders from Iran, according to Reuters. The remarks come after three American service members were killed and other were wounded in a drone attack near the Syrian border over the weekend.
Some Republicans have pressed Biden to authorize stronger action against Iran, with members of both parties concerned about the safety of U.S. troops overseas.
"While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq," President Biden said in response to the strike.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a blistering statement Sunday, "The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East. Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief."
34 AMERICAN SERVICE MEMBERS INJURED, 8 EVACUATED FROM JORDAN FOLLOWING ATTACK
This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the military base known as Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan, on Oct. 12, 2023. (Planet Labs PBC via AP) (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
Iran's Mission to the United Nations said in its own statement that "Iran had no connection and had nothing to do with the attack on the U.S. base," Reuters reported.
"There is a conflict between U.S. forces and resistance groups in the region, which reciprocate retaliatory attacks," the statement also said.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose coalition of Iran-backed militant groups, is claiming responsibility for the deadly attack.
Militant groups targeted the logistics support base located at Tower 22 of the Jordanian Defense Network. There are around 350 U.S. Army and Air Force personnel deployed at the base to counter ISIS.
President Joe Biden speaks at South Carolina's First in the Nation dinner at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 27. Biden said in a statement on Sunday that the weekend drone attack that killed three American service members in Jordan was carried out by "radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq." (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
By late Sunday, the number of injured had climbed to 34 service members. This included at least eight personnel whose injuries warranted an evacuation from Jordan to higher-level care, though they were believed to be in stable condition.
Fox News is told all service members are being fully evaluated. The number of injured was expected to fluctuate.
The fatalities marked a major escalation after months of strikes by such groups against American forces across the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in the wake of the attack that "we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests." (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, "we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests."
Fox News’ Bradford Betz, Liz Friden and The Associated Press contributed to this report.