US accuses Iran behind drone strike in Jordan

Iran denies it was involved in the drone attack which killed three US troops and injured 34 on a US base in Jordan, near the Syria border

US President Joe Biden said the attack had been carried out by Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq

“We shall respond,” he said at a campaign event in South Carolina on Sunday

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, has called the accusations “baseless” and says they are part of a “conspiracy… to drag America into the conflict”

It is the first time US soldiers have been killed by strikes in the region after Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza

US media report the attack was on Tower 22, in north-east Jordan

It has sparked fears of an escalation in the conflict in the region

We’ve just been watching a panel of experts answer questions about what’s happening in the Middle East, and are now bringing you some of the highlights.

A question from Marissa, in London, was just put to the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet about whether the UK and US are planning to go to war in the region given what’s happening.

Lyse says: “Some would say they’re already at war in the Middle East – war takes different shapes and sizes”. She goes on:

Quote Message: A week ago, they spoke of a ‘one off’ strike against the Houthis, which were attacking vessels in a vital Red Sea shipping lane … Well, here we are. They’re still striking Houthi targets in Yemen.

A week ago, they spoke of a ‘one off’ strike against the Houthis, which were attacking vessels in a vital Red Sea shipping lane … Well, here we are. They’re still striking Houthi targets in Yemen.

Quote Message: And not only has it not stopped the Houthis, the group has actually doubled down and [this] has catapulted the Houthis to the centre of world attention – exactly where they want to be.”

And not only has it not stopped the Houthis, the group has actually doubled down and [this] has catapulted the Houthis to the centre of world attention – exactly where they want to be.”

The attack on US troops is a “very serious” incident and President Biden will want to respond in a “military fashion”, according to Sir Mark Lyall Grant, a former UK ambassador to the UN.

He says he expects to see a very strong response against some of the “Iranian-backed or affiliated” militias based in Syria and Iraq in the next 24 hours.

But Grant, who is also an ex-national security adviser, says he does not think the US will launch an attack “directly on Iranian soil” and he does not think the Iranians are seeking further escalation either.

More broadly, he says many commentators had expected things to escalate further after months of war in Gaza, but so far there has not been a full-scale conflagration in the region.

He adds that President Biden “did well early on” by taking some deterrent steps – including sending warships into the region and giving very direct warnings to Iran not escalate things further.

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