Biden under pressure for Jordan drone attack on US troops

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (AFP): The White House on Monday vowed a "very consequential response" to a drone attack on a base in Jordan that killed three American troops, with President Joe Biden blaming Iran-backed militants as he came under pressure for the attack.
The casualties -- the first US military deaths in an attack in the region since the Israel-Hamas war began -- raised fears of an escalating conflict, as fighting rages in Gaza.
Washington's response will be "very consequential," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN Monday.
"But we don't seek a war with Iran. We're not looking for a wider conflict in the Middle East," he added.
Iran said it had nothing to do with the attack and denied US accusations that it supported militant groups responsible for the Sunday strike on the remote frontier base in Jordan's northeast, near the borders with Iraq and Syria.
While Washington is still gathering the facts, "we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq," Biden said Sunday, pledging to hold "all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing."
Kirby would not speculate on the options being considered by the president, including whether targets inside Iran were on the table.
He said Washington wants to "make it clear" that the attack -- part of a series of other increasingly dangerous assaults by Iran-backed militants in the region in recent weeks -- was "unacceptable."