Biden: 'I don't think we need a wider war in the Middle East'

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he is not seeking to expand the conflict in the Middle East as he prepares to respond to a suicide drone attack that killed three American troops in Jordan.

"I don't think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That's not what I am looking for," Biden told reporters at the White House as he prepared to depart for two campaign events in the state of Florida.

Sunday's suicide drone attack killed three American troops and injured at least 34 others at Tower 22, a remote military installation in Jordan near the Syrian and Iraqi borders. An umbrella group of Iranian-backed militias calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility.

The group has been carrying out drone and missile attacks on US forces in the region for months amid Israel's ongoing war against the besieged Gaza Strip. Sunday's fatalities were the first to have resulted from the attacks. Most others were intercepted or resulted in minor injuries to American forces.

Biden has vowed to retaliate and is weighing potential responses. It is unclear what form the US retaliation will take but the White House declined to rule out strikes on Iran, saying it would not "telegraph punches."

In response to a question, Biden said he holds Iran responsible for the Sunday attack "in the sense that they're supplying weapons to the people who did it."

Those comments echo the Pentagon, which has said the US holds Iran responsible as it funds “and train and support and equip these militias."