Iran on Wednesday threatened to "decisively respond" to any U.S. attack made in reaction to the deadly assault by a Tehran-linked drone earlier this week that resulted in the deaths of three U.S. soldiers in Jordan.
President Joe Biden, who blamed Iran-backed militant groups for the attack that wounded dozens of U.S. soldiers, said Tuesday that he decided how to respond to the incident but stressed that the United States does not need to enter a "wider war in the Middle East."
Iran denied any involvement immediately after the attack, and the country's United Nations ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told reporters Wednesday, "The Islamic Republic would decisively respond to any attack on the county, its interests and nationals under any pretexts," according to The Associated Press.
He also said that an attack on his country would elicit a "strong response," but he did not elaborate further.
The three U.S. service members who were killed over the weekend were the first ones to die since Oct. 7, 2023, when Iran-backed terrorists with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad entered Israel and killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others.
Tensions have been heightened in the region ever since, especially in the Red Sea, where Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen have been attacking ships in the vital shipping route.
Iran has lately become more bold and started directly launching attacks rather than using proxy actors as usual. Earlier this month, Iran directly targeted three different countries in drone and missile attacks within 24 hours.
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