U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan answers questions during the daily briefing at the White House on November 13, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that the United States will take further military action against Iran-backed groups, escalating tensions in the Middle East, despite Sullivan insisting the US is not seeking a wider conflict in the region. .
“The president has been very clear from the beginning, that when American forces are attacked, we will respond, and we have responded several times over the last few months,” Sullivan said during an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”“, adding that the recent US strikes “were not the end” of the president’s ongoing military response. “We intend to take additional strikes and additional actions to continue to send a clear message that the United States will respond when our forces attack or our people are killed.”
It remains unclear whether the US will conduct raids inside Iran or not.
“I’m not going to get into what we’ve decided and ruled out in terms of military action,” Sullivan said in response to moderator Kristen Welker’s question about whether or not the U.S. has ruled out strikes on Iran.
“What I will say is that the president is determined to respond forcefully to attacks against our people. The president is also not looking for a wider war in the Middle East,” he added.
On Friday, the US carried out retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Iran-backed militants. The strikes were in response to a January 28 drone strike on a US base in northeastern Jordan that killed three US soldiers and wounded dozens of others. The base, known as Tower 22, is located near the border demilitarized zone between Jordan and Syria, and is also close to the border with Iraq.
A day after those strikes, the US and Britain led strikes against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, in a second attempt to further destabilize Iranian-backed groups. The Houthis, who have close ties to Iran, have been firing on merchant ships and warships in the Red Sea, saying their actions are in solidarity with the Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war. These are “separate but related challenges,” Sullivan said of the spread of the conflict in the region, which he said the Biden administration is trying to prevent.
Iran has denied involvement in the Jordanian drone strike, stressing that the militants are acting independently. Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday doomed the overnight US attacks in Iraq and Syria;
When asked how concerned he was that Iranian-backed forces could strike back against American forces, Sullivan replied: “That’s always a risk…if we see more attacks, you’ll see more responses.”
Sullivan also appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” CBS’ “Face the Nation” and CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday morning.