1/29/24, 3:41 PM
U.S. Failed to Stop Attack in Jordan After Mix-Up Over Drone Identity - WSJ
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https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iranian-allies-brace-for-u-s-response-to-deadly-drone-strike-99378749
EXCLUSIVE
MIDDLE EAST
U.S. Failed to Stop Attack in Jordan
After Mix-Up Over Drone Identity
Enemy drone approached its target at the same time a U.S. drone was
also returning to base
By Nancy A. Youssef Follow , Michael R. Gordon Follow and Sune Engel Rasmussen Follow
Updated Jan. 29, 2024 2:11 pm ET
The U.S. has responded to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea with airstrikes on Yemeni soil. PHOTO: U.S.
NAVY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
The U.S. failed to stop a deadly attack on an American military outpost in Jordan
when the enemy drone approached its target at the same time a U.S. drone was
also returning to base, U.S. officials said Monday.
The return of the U.S. drone led to some confusion over whether the incoming
drone was friend or foe, officials have concluded so far.
The enemy drone was launched from Iraq by a militia backed by Tehran, U.S.
officials said. The outpost, Tower 22, sits in Jordan, near the borders of Iraq and
Syria.
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An American defense official said on Monday that the U.S. has yet to find
evidence that Iran directed the attack, which killed three U.S. troops and
wounded dozens of others. The drone struck living quarters for the troops,
contributing to the high casualties, a U.S. official said.
Sunday’s attack signaled an escalation in hostilities that have been growing
since the Oct. 7 Hamas assault on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.
“We do not seek another war. We do not seek to escalate,” White House National
Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “But we will absolutely do what is
required to protect ourselves, to continue that mission and to respond
appropriately to these attacks.”
Kirby declined to comment on The Wall Street Journal’s reporting on the drone
mix-up.
The U.S. is weighing strikes against militias in Iraq and Syria, as well as within
Iran, the officials said. An attack on Iranian soil seemed like a less likely option,
U.S. officials said.
A satellite image shows Tower 22, an American military outpost in Jordan near the borders of Iraq and
Syria. PHOTO: PLANET LABS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
The Biden administration has to weigh a response forceful enough to deter
Iranian allies from conducting further attacks on U.S. forces and interests while
avoiding getting bogged down in another war in the Middle East.
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On Monday morning, President Biden met with members of his national security
team in the White House Situation Room to discuss the latest developments
regarding the attack. Participants included national security adviser Jake
Sullivan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Director of National Intelligence Avril
Haines, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, principal deputy national security
adviser Jon Finer, Homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall and NSC
coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk.
The Reagan administration attacked Iranian ships and offshore oil platforms in
clashes with Tehran, but the U.S. military hasn’t previously attacked targets on
Iranian territory.
Former officials have said the administration might choose from a variety of
options short of striking Iranian territory, such as attacking Iran’s paramilitary
Quds Force personnel in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, hitting Iranian ships at sea or
conducting a major attack on the Iranian-backed militia group that is assessed to
be responsible.
President Biden said the U.S. would respond to the deadly drone strike. PHOTO: JACQUELYN
MARTIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Iran has denied any link to the drone strike. Iranian Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Nasser Kanaani on Monday called any allegations of Iranian
involvement “baseless accusations” designed to draw the U.S. back into another
war in the Middle East.
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“The responsibility for the consequences of provoking allegations against Iran
lies with those who bring up such baseless claims,” Kanaani told reporters in
Tehran.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella of pro-Iranian militias, claimed
responsibility for attacks on three U.S. bases in Syria, including Al Tanf, which is
close to the attacked outpost near the Iraqi and Jordanian borders.
A Telegram channel close to pro-Iranian militias said Sunday’s attack marked
retaliation for a U.S. strike in the south of Baghdad a few days ago, during which
two militia members were killed.
The killing of three American service members significantly raises the stakes for
the U.S. In an election year, the Biden administration will be under even more
pressure to act robustly.
Attacks to U.S. bases located in the Mideast
TURKEY
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Al
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Mission Support
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Mediterranean Sea
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Oil Field
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IRAQ
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al-Assad Air
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Three
Three U.S.
U.S. troops
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onJan.
Jan. 28
28
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SAUDI ARABIA
100 miles
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Note: Attacks confirmed by U.S. officials shown. As of Jan. 28 since Oct. 18, 2023.
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Source: Institute for the Study of War and AEI's Critical Threats Project
“There is risk in not doing enough, and seeing more attacks on U.S. forces and
international commercial shipping, and there is also clearly a risk in escalating a
conflict with Iran itself,” said Andrew Borene, a former senior official at the
National Counterterrorism Center and now executive director at Flashpoint, an
intelligence firm.
For decades, Iran has provided the financial and military backbone of a network
of loyal militias across the Middle East that serves to broaden its military
footprint and push back against American and Israeli influence. The groups
include Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, militias in Iraq and Syria,
and Palestinian groups such as Hamas.
Since Oct. 7, Iran’s network of armed groups across the region has stepped up
attacks on Israeli and American interests, aiming to impose a cost for the war in
Gaza.
Iranian-backed militias in Syria and Iraq have launched more than 160 attacks
against U.S. troops since mid-October, including ballistic missile attacks on the
U.S. Al-Asad Airbase that caused minor injuries to American and coalition
personnel.
While funded and armed by Tehran, those groups have domestic agendas of their
own and operate with some measure of autonomy, which allows Tehran to
distance itself from their actions, and largely avoid any blowback.
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Members of an Iran-affiliated militia in Baghdad mourned the death of a comrade they say was killed
by a U.S. strike. PHOTO: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Even if the U.S. hits back at the militias in Iraq and Syria, the militant groups are
likely to continue escalating their campaign against U.S. forces in the region,
said Hamdi Malik, an expert studying Shiite militias with the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank.
“Any change in behavior can only happen as a result of exacting costs on the
Iranian regime itself rather than the militias in the region. At the moment
they’re very comfortable,” Malik said. “Imagine what they’re thinking. At the
moment, they have managed to entangle both their main enemies, the United
States and Israel, in a few conflicts in the region.”
Lebanese militia Hezbollah has exchanged hundreds of missiles and rockets with
the Israeli military across the border and lost more than 150 fighters in the
skirmishes. The Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen has attacked vessels in
the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping.
Such attacks have appeared designed to avoid crossing red lines that might
prompt direct military retaliation against Tehran itself. As clashes have
intensified, however, and Israel has refused demands by Iran and its allies to
cease fighting in Gaza, Iran and the U.S. have gradually been drawn deeper into
the conflict.
The U.S. has responded to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea with airstrikes on
Yemeni soil, most recently on Saturday. Two Navy SEALs were lost at sea during
an operation to seize a vessel carrying Iranian-made missile parts bound for
Houthi rebels in Yemen. Earlier this month, an Israeli airstrike killed five military
advisers with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria.
After Sunday’s drone strike, Revolutionary Guard members and Afghan militia
fighters under the organization’s command in Syria fled from three locations
near the eastern city of Deir Ezzour, fearing potential U.S. strikes, according to
Syrian officials and government advisers.
“I don’t expect any strikes in Iran,” an Iranian diplomat said. “But there will be
attacks on pro-Iranian militias and that will fuel a cycle of revenge that could
spiral out of control.”
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U.S. Failed to Stop Attack in Jordan After Mix-Up Over Drone Identity - WSJ
—Aresu Eqbali, Benoit Faucon, Rory Jones and Jared Malsin contributed to this
article.
Write to Nancy A. Youssef at nancy.youssef@wsj.com, Michael R. Gordon at
michael.gordon@wsj.com and Sune Engel Rasmussen at
sune.rasmussen@wsj.com
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