The U.S. failed to stop a deadly attack on an American military outpost in Jordan because the enemy drone approached its target at the same time a U.S. drone was also returning to base, U.S. officials said Monday.
The return of the U.S. drone led to some confusion over whether the incoming drone was friend or foe, officials have concluded so far.
The enemy drone was launched from Iraq by a militia backed by Tehran, U.S. officials said. The outpost, Tower 22, sits in Jordan, near the borders of Iraq and Syria.An American defense official said on Monday that the U.S. has yet to find evidence thus far that Iran directed the attack, which killed three U.S. troops and wounded dozens of others. Sunday’s attack signaled an escalation in hostilities that have been growing since the Oct. 7 Hamas assault on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. President Biden said the U.S. would respond.
The U.S. is weighing strikes against militias in Iraq and Syria, as well as within Iran, the officials said. An attack on Iranian soil seemed like a less likely option, U.S. officials said.
The Biden administration has to weigh a response forceful enough to deter Iranian allies from conducting further attacks on U.S. forces and interests while avoiding getting bogged down in another war in the Middle East.
The Reagan administration attacked Iranian ships and offshore oil platforms in clashes with Tehran, but the U.S. military hasn’t previously attacked targets on Iranian territory.
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