State Department Tight-Lipped On Retaliation Plans After Iranian Proxy Attack

The State Department on Tuesday remained tight-lipped on President Joe Biden's retaliation plans against Iran for its proxies' deadly drone attack in Jordan, even after Biden announced that he had made up his mind on how to respond, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"We’re not going to telegraph the response in advance, we’re not going to telegraph the nature of the response or the timing of the response, and no one should read anything into that about when, where, or how that response might take place," Spokesperson Matthew Miller told a daily briefing when press by TURAN's correspondent on when the U.S. could launch a retaliatory attack.

In the meantime, he went on to add that Washington's response "could be multi-level, it could come in stages, and it could be sustained over time."

Miller repeated the administration's line about wanting to prevent a broader conflict. "As you have heard multiple members of this administration say, we do not seek conflict with Iran, we do not want to see escalation of this conflict, we do not believe that escalation in the interests of the United States, not in the interests of Iran, it’s not in the interests of anyone in the region."  

But at the same time, he added, "we will take the appropriate steps to defend U.S. personnel, defend U.S. interests, and to hold accountable those who go after and injure and harm and kill U.S. personnel."

Three Army soldiers were killed Sunday when an Iranian-backed group flew an explosive suicide drone into the U.S. base in Jordan, while dozens of U.S. service members reported injuries.

U.S. officials say the group responsible is most likely Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group in Iraq, but the administration has not reached a final determination.