Iran threatens retaliation for any U.S. strikes in response to troop deaths

Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani on Wednesday said Tehran would respond “decisively” to any attack on the country, according to state-run media. President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he had decided how to retaliate for an attack in Jordan on Sunday by Iran-backed militants that killed three U.S. Army soldiers. The United States is not looking for a war with Iran, but the weekend attack escalated tensions and requires a response, National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said Monday during a media briefing. American officials have not released details about a retaliatory operation.

What else is happening in the region? The Kataib Hezbollah militia on Tuesday suspended military operations against American forces, according to a statement from the group’s secretary-general Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi. The Iran-backed group operates in Iraq and is part of a network of militias that have launched attacks on American forces to protest Israel’s war in Gaza. The United States believes Kataib Hezbollah is responsible for the weekend drone strike, Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder said Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, the USS Gravely shot down an anti-ship cruise missile fired toward the Red Sea from territory in Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militants, according to U.S. Central Command.

Dig deeper: Read R. Albert Mohler Jr.’s column in WORLD Opinions about whether or not the United States is prepared to confront a new “Axis of Evil” that includes Iran.