WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he has made a decision on how to respond to the attack by Iranian-backed militants that killed three American troops in the Middle East over the weekend.
Speaking to reporters before leaving the White House, Biden was asked if he had made a decision in response to the attack, which killed three American troops.
“Yes,” he said.
Retaliatory strikes by the U.S. so far have yet to stop Iranian-backed groups in the region from carrying out attacks against the United States. Biden reiterated that the U.S. is not looking for a “wider war in the Middle East”.
“That’s not what I’m looking for,” he said.
The news comes after Biden vowed to respond and “hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner [of] our choosing” for the attack, which injured over 30.
While the President would not say what the decision is, a U.S. official told Fwrd Axis News that response would be carried out “over the course of several days,” striking “multiple targets”.
“These are going to be very deliberate targets — deliberate strikes on facilities that enabled these attacks” on U.S. forces, the official said.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah Brigades — based in Iraq — said Tuesday it would suspend its military operations against U.S. forces in Iraq.
“As we announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces — in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government we will continue to defend our people in Gaza in other ways,” the group said in a statement.
Biden is facing increasing pressure to forcefully respond to the attack while not escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The strikes were the first American deaths by Iranian-backed militant groups since the Israel-Hamas war started Oct. 7.
Biden spoke to the family members of the service members who were killed in Sunday’s attack and will attend the dignified transfer of their bodies in Delaware on Friday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Air Force One.
