US Targets Entities Funding Iranian IRGC Qods Force, Hezbollah

"We hear threats coming from American officials, we tell them that they have already tested us and we now know one another, no threat will be left unanswered," Salami said, according to semi-official Tasnim news agency.

A day earlier, the main Iran-backed group in Iraq blamed for killing 3 American soldiers on Sunday, said it was ceasing operations against the US Tuesday, just as President Joe Biden said he had decided how to respond.

Kataib Hezbollah, sponsored by Iran, claimed in a brief statement that it was doing so “to avoid embarrassment for the Iraqi government,” conveniently leaving out the Iranian regime and the imminent threat of US retaliation it faces.

“Our brothers in the Axis [of Resistance], especially in the Islamic Republic [of Iran], do not know how our jihadist work is conducted,” the statement read, attempting to exonerate Iran from the killing of US troops. “They often objected to pressure and escalation against the American occupation forces in Iraq and Syria.”

The statement seems to toe the official line coming out of Iran following the drone attack on a US base in Jordan last weekend: that Iran has had nothing to do with it.

President Biden confirmed Tuesday that he saw Iran responsible for the fatal attack “in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons” to Kataib Hezbollah. He reiterated his wish, nonetheless, to avoid “a wider war” in the region. “That’s not what I’m looking for,” Biden said.

The US President has vowed a “strong” response, leaving the experts to speculate about its nature and the timing.

“It is very possible that what you’ll see is a tiered approach here, not just a single action, but essentially multiple actions,” the White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday. He too emphasized that the Biden administration is not looking for a war with Iran.

Iranian officials maintain that the country has had no hand in the killing of US forces. But the regime outlets have been consistently boasting about the Axis of Resistance as a legacy of Qassem Soleimani, the IRGC commander killed by a US drone strike in January 2020.

Iran’s ultra-hardline daily Kayhan –which many believe to reflect the thinking of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei– has slammed the notion that the regime would “abandon” its Axis allies in the event of US retaliatory attacks.

“[It is implied] that Iran is indifferent to aggression against its allies and is only sensitive to its own soil,” Keyhan writes. “To the contrary, Iran will not abandon its allies… and warns that any aggression will be met with more painful strikes by the resistance front.”

Many in Washington blame the Biden administration for Iran’s increasingly emboldened stance, even calling his policy “appeasement.”

President Biden seems to have been caught in two minds as he tries to strike a balance between deterring Iran and its proxies and avoiding a wider, full-scale war that would further engage the US military. Still, many experts believe that a consequential strike is inevitable this time. US official statements seem to confirm this.

“We will respond, we will respond strongly, we will respond at a time and place of our choosing,” said secretary of state Antony Blinken, meeting NATO secretary general. “Obviously, I’m not going to telegraph what we might do in this instance or get ahead of the president, but I can, again, tell you … we will respond. And that response could be multi-levelled, come in stages and be sustained over time.”

It’s hard to measure the effects of this “wait and see” approach. On the one hand, it signals doubt and lack of determination –which may be comforting and even encouraging for Iran’s leadership. On the other hand, it could exacerbate their apprehension and make them more cautious as they try to guess the time and manner of the American blow.

The group said in a statement that its decision aimed at preventing "embarrassment" to the Iraqi government, as President Joe Biden said he had made up his mind about responding to those who were behind a deadly attack on US troops.

The decision follows the killing of three US troops in a drone attack near the Jordan-Syria border - an attack that the Pentagon said bore the "footprints" of Kataib Hezbollah, though a final assessment had not yet been made. However, after three days, the White House is yet to order a military response.

Founded in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah is one of the elite Iraqi armed factions closest to Iran.

It is the most powerful armed faction in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of hardline Shi'ite armed groups that have claimed more than 150 attacks on US forces since the Gaza war began in early October.

Iraq's government is backed by parties and militias close to Iran, though not directly by the hardline groups that have been firing on US forces, Western and Iraqi officials say.

Baghdad has condemned the attacks while also saying regional escalation would continue as long as the Gaza war went on.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed on Monday the US would take "all necessary actions" to defend its troops after the deadly drone attack, even as President Joe Biden's administration stressed it was not seeking a war with Iran.

Unconfirmed reports suggested that President Biden would authorize military action in the Middle East early Tuesday local time. But no US strikes were recorded, further angering those in Washington who have been calling on Biden to ‘toughen up’ on Iran for many months –and who believe loss of American life must be avenged.

That is something the administration has promised, of course.

“The president and I will not tolerate attacks on US forces and we will take all necessary actions to defend the US and our troops,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Monday, reiterating that “all necessary actions” will be taken.

But “necessary actions” often come with consequences. And it’s those potential consequences, it seems, that the Biden administration finds unpalatable.

“We want to avoid broader escalation,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, betraying the prevailing perception within the US government that a substantive attack against Iran would lead to a full-scale war in a region that’s “incredibly volatile” already.

“I would argue that we’ve not seen a situation as dangerous as the one we’re facing now across the region at least since 1973, and arguably even before that,” Blinken said, warning at the same time that the US will respond “strongly” to anyone who attempts to use the crisis to attack American personnel.

Observers noted that just last September, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had said that the Middle Eat is "quieter today than it's been in two decades," highlighting what they believe is the administration's lack of a coherent Middle East policy.

For critics, Iran seems to be impervious to warnings from the Biden administration for that reason. After all, the original warning, “don’t, don’t, don’t” was never backed up by action. And later statements, such as “the message has been delivered to Iran” with the airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen turned out to be more of an expression of wish than a pronouncement of fact.

Still, many experts believe that a consequential strike is inevitable this time.

With all his worries about regional “peace and stability”, with all his aversion to an oil price hike that would hit American consumers, President Biden may find it all but impossible to enter a presidential race am image of weakness in foreign policy.

Biden’s potential rival in the 2024 elections Nikkie Haley lambasted the incumbent in a Fox News interview Monday, calling for “hitting Iran smart” and “taking away their capabilities” so that no more American soldiers are hurt.

“Joe Biden has been appeasing Iran for too long,” Haley posted on X. “Dictators and thugs only respond to strength.”

More than 40 US troops have been injured in last weekend’s attack, including five with traumatic brain injury. Since October, at least 160 attacks have been recorded against American soldiers in Iraq and Syria since October. Less than ten percent of those attacks have been reciprocated. And it’s precisely due to this imbalance in aggression, Biden critics say, that three soldiers have lost their lives.

“Real leadership requires real action,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, in a statement. “Attacks on our servicemembers, allies, and interests will continue until this president shows strong leadership and strikes fear in our enemies.”

President Biden has vowed a strong response to the attacks that he has laid at the door of the regime in Iran. The response, according to secretary Blinken, “could be multi-levelled, come in stages, and be sustained over time.”

Experts have predicted –or suggested– a range of possible retaliatory actions: from Soleimani-style killing of military men to cyber attacks on IRGC command and control, from CIA operations to airstrikes against Iran’s navy or even oil production facilities inside Iran.

Having sensed the danger, perhaps, Iranian officials have disowned last weekend’s attack on the US base in Jordan, claiming that the array of armed groups that the Islamic Republic funds, trains, equips, and calls “Resistance”, act independently and based on their specific agendas and contingencies.

According to ‘hit Iran’ advocates, these groups cannot function –or will drastically diminish– without Iran’s support. And Iran would withdraw its support only if it’s forced to, the argument goes.

Major General Patrick Ryder, Press Secretary of the Department of Defense, said, “We will take necessary action to protect our forces, no matter where they're serving around the world. I'm not going to telegraph or forecast any potential response from the United States.”

“We will do whatever we need to do to protect our forces going forward. But certainly, at the end of the day, we are not looking to engage in a wider conflict merely to ensure regional security and stability,” he added.

The Sunday attack claimed the lives of three American soldiers, marking the first such deaths since the escalation of tensions triggered by the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza last October.

President Joe Biden faces mounting pressure to address the drone strike, refraining from directly implicating Tehran but attributing the assault to "radical Iran-backed militant groups" operating in Syria and Iraq. He pledged accountability for those responsible.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has denied involvement in the attack, dismissing allegations as "repetition of baseless accusations."

"The groups in the region do not take orders from Iran," Kanaani said. "War is not a solution. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza can lead to the return of peace."

Although Tehran has avoided direct military involvement in the Gaza war, its proxy forces in the region have attacked US troops 160 times since October.

The national security council spokesperson reiterated the stance, stating, "We are not pursuing war with Iran nor escalating tensions in the region. Despite ongoing attacks, we are exploring available options." Kirby underscored the desire for a stable, secure, and prosperous Middle East while urging an end to the attacks.

President Joe Biden and US officials confirmed that three US service members were killed, and at least 34 were wounded in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border.

Biden condemned the attack, attributing it to radical Iran-backed groups operating in Syria and Iraq has vowed retaliation. The continuous missile and drone strikes targeting US troops since October, initiated after Israel's response to Hamas' actions, have now claimed American lives for the first time, crossing a perceived red line in Washington.

“We had a tough day last night in the Middle East. We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases,” he said. Biden added, “and we shall respond.”

Despite previous warnings from critics of Biden's Iran policy, the loss of life has left the administration with few alternatives but to consider escalation.