Amid growing calls to retaliate against Iran following the deaths of three U.S. service members, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday on MSNBC that the Biden administration is still weighing how it will respond.
“We certainly know Iran is backing these groups,” he said of the drone attack carried out by militants in Syria and Iraq that struck a U.S. base in Jordan. “We don’t want a wider war with Iran, we don’t want a wider war in the region, but we gotta do what we have to do.”
President Biden on Sunday said a response would be forthcoming but was vague about what it would look like.
“We had a tough day last night in the Middle East. We lost three brave souls,” he said in Columbia, S.C.. “We shall respond.”
When Kirby was asked about the timeline of a response, he reiterated the president’s pledge to retaliate.
“We will respond, but … we’ll do it in a time and manner of our choosing,” he said.
Kirby's comments come after several prominent Republicans called for a 'swift and decisive' response.
My statement following the Iran-backed attacks in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members and injured 25: pic.twitter.com/L8ckks5ch4
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 28, 2024
We must respond to these repeated attacks by Iran & its proxies by striking directly against Iranian targets & its leadership. The Biden administration's responses thus far have only invited more attacks. It is time to act swiftly and decisively for the whole world to see. (2/2)
— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) January 28, 2024
As a military spouse, my heart breaks for the families who lost loved ones. This shows the barbaric nature of our enemies in Iran. And it shows that they would not be attacking our troops if Joe Biden weren't so weak in his treatment of Iran. We should retaliate with the full…
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 28, 2024
Nikki Haley calls for bombing the leadership of Iran, which she says would "prevent" war. Classic example of the warped, inverted logic of interventionists and "deterrence" fetishists, who always try to claim that dropping bombs is actually a genius war-prevention strategy pic.twitter.com/bjZDd6Ckkb
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) January 29, 2024
Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 28, 2024