Iranian authorities have denied involvement in a drone attack on a US base near Jordan’s border with Syria that killed three US servicemen.
The US blamed “radical militant groups backed by Iran” for the attack, which left dozens injured. The drone attack injured 34 US servicemen and killed three. This is the first instance of American deaths
Joe Biden said the US would “hold all those responsible accountable at the time and in the manner we choose”.
Iran has rejected US and British accusations that it supports the militant groups blamed for the strike. Foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said, according to Tehran’s official IRNA news agency:
These claims are made with specific political goals to reverse the realities of the region.
The spokesman said Tehran had repeatedly warned about the “danger of expanding the scope of the conflict in the region” amid continued Israeli attacks on Gaza, as well as the “support of the US for the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.” He added:
The war in Gaza is not the solution and ending the attacks of the Zionist regime on Gaza and an immediate cease-fire can be the basis for the return of peace to the region.
The names of the dead and injured servicemen have not yet been released. US officials said the drone strike hit residential areas.
US Central Command and President Biden said the attack targeted a base in northeastern Jordan, near the border with Syria. US officials later referred to it as “Tower 22.”
In December, US officials said US bases in Iraq and Syria had been attacked at least 97 times since 17 October.
Last month, the US launched airstrikes against Iran-linked groups after three US service members were injured (one of them critically) in a drone attack on a base in northern Iraq. Earlier in January, a militant leader accused of being behind attacks on US personnel was killed in a US retaliatory strike in Baghdad.
