Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
NEW YORK, Jan 29 /TASS/. U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration officials discussed the military response to the recent attack by pro-Iranian groups on a U.S. military base near the Jordan-Syria border, Axios news agency reported citing its sources.
According to the news portal, the leaders met on 28 January to discuss a "significant military response" to the militants. "We don't want war, but those behind this attack need to feel our response," a US official told Axios.
CIA Director Bill Burns reportedly joined some of the consultations remotely from Paris, where he met with the Qatari prime minister and the heads of Israeli and Egyptian intelligence agencies to discuss a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in exchange for hostages held in Gaza.
The news website said the White House and the Pentagon are trying to find an option that would limit the growing risk of a regional war. But as Axios reported, the Biden administration is under pressure from Republicans, some of whom are calling for strikes on Iran. Sources previously told Bloomberg that the US is considering various options to retaliate for an attack on its base, including a covert operation against Iran.
U.S. Central Command said on 28 January that three U.S. soldiers were killed and 25 wounded in a drone attack on a Western coalition military base in the Al-Tanf area near the Syrian-Jordanian border. CNN later reported that the number of wounded soldiers had risen to 34. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed to retaliate against Iran-backed militias at the right time and place.
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