A deadly drone strike on a US base near the Jordanian-Syrian border could lead to a stronger response from Washington than it has so far since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources as saying.
“Regardless of the outcome, the [potential] attack presents [President Joe] Biden with a decision that will be one of the most consequential of his presidency”, something that “could put the US into direct confrontation with the leadership in Tehran,” Bloomberg reported.
This comes after Biden pledged that "we [the US] shall respond" to Monday's drone attack on Tower 22, an American military outpost in northeastern Jordan, which killed three US soldiers and wounded 30 others.
“Have no doubt — we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing,” the US president added as Iranian militia group known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.
However, Tehran officially stated that it had "no connection and nothing to do" with the attack, according to Iranian media quoting Tehran's representative to the UN.
Jordanian government officials have since denied that the dead and injured US troops were stationed in their country, insisting that the drone strike occurred on Syrian territory at the Al-Tanf base.
The attack comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East, as Tel Aviv continues its war on the Gaza Strip in response to the Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Israel that killed at least 1,139 people, according to Israeli officials.
The Jewish state's subsequent assault on Gaza has already claimed the lives of more than 26,400 people, according to Palestinian officials based in the Strip.
Adding fuel to the fire of Middle East tensions is the Red Sea crisis, which shows no signs of abating. The US has so far carried out 10 rounds of airstrikes against the Houthis in response to the Yemeni militant group's attacks on Israeli, US or British ships in the Red Sea over Tel Aviv's war on Gaza.