Iranian officials have warned that they will respond “decisively” to any threat from the United States as the Pentagon prepares to respond to the drone attack that killed three US soldiers in Jordan.
On Wednesday, Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, shared his country’s intentions with the state-run IRNA media outlet, The Associated Press reported.
“The Islamic Republic would decisively respond to any attack on the country, its interests, and nationals under any pretexts,” Iravani said.
While keeping details brief, Iravani said that his country would give a “strong response” if provoked.
The comments from Iran’s ambassador come as Biden vowed to respond to the attack that hit Tower 22, a US base in Jordan, early Sunday morning, killing three and injuring dozens more. According to the Pentagon, the attack was carried out by an Iran-backed militia group.
Since the start of the Israel and Hamas war in October, American troops have been the subject of more than 160 attacks from Iranian-backed groups.
While many have called for retaliation on Iran for the attack, Biden said earlier this week that the US response would be in a “time and manner of our choosing.”
Part of the problem in Biden’s response is that he and his officials want to ensure they aren’t widening the conflict in the Middle East or sparking war with Iran.
Per IRNA’s translation, Iranian Revolutionary Guard chief Hossein Salami said on Wednesday that they are hearing “threatening words” from American officials.
“You have tested us, and we know each other. We will not leave any threat unanswered,” Salami said. “We are not after war, but we have no fear of war.”
Iran has denied involvement in the Jordan attack and said that it does not issue direct orders to militia groups, but the US contends that Iran is widely complicit in attacks from the groups it backs.