Asked what might be different, given the United States’ failure so far to deter Iranian-backed militias from attacking American forces and assets, Biden replied: “We’ll see.”
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Three US soldiers were killed over the weekend and more than 40 others were injured after US defenses failed to intercept a drone launched by an Iranian-backed militia, believing it to be a friendly drone returning to a US base – known as Tower 22 – on the Jordanian-Syrian border.
The drone attack was the first time that American soldiers were killed in the repercussions of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Pentagon identified those killed in the attack as William Jerome Rivers, 46; Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, and Breonna Alexandria Moffitt, 23, of Savannah, Georgia.
Biden has now spoken with all three families and will attend the dignified transfer of their remains at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Friday.
But the president's cautious comments about the US response underscore the challenge he faces as he seeks to avoid escalating tensions in the Middle East, while at the same time demonstrating his strength in the region.
On December 23, two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired at international shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, Iranian-backed groups have launched more than 150 attacks on the United States in the Middle East, including a series of attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea region by the Iran-backed Houthis.
In response to the shipping attacks, the United States formed a coalition of 12 countries – including Australia – to warn the rebels that they would face consequences if they continued to attack ships passing through the vital trade lane.
But tensions continued to escalate to the point that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters in Washington yesterday: “I would argue that we have not seen a situation as dangerous as the one we are facing now throughout the region since at least 1973.” And maybe even before that.
The issue is politically fraught for Biden, given the possibility of a rematch against Donald Trump, who has often touted his toughness against Iran and has repeatedly attacked the president as too weak on the world stage.
This satellite image shows a military base in northeastern Jordan where three American soldiers were killed and 40 others wounded.credit: Planet Laboratories PBC
Nikki Haley, Trump's main Republican rival, also criticized the president and suggested the US should “go after” Iranian military leaders in response to the drone attack.
“They went after their launch sites, and then they went after the leadership,” she told CBS on Tuesday.
