Biden faces pressure to confront Iran after US troops killed

U.S. President Joe Biden faces intensifying pressure to confront Iran directly after the country’s proxies killed three American soldiers in a drone strike in Jordan, risking precisely the wider regional conflict that he’s said he wants to avoid.

A person familiar with the U.S. position, who asked not to be identified discussing private discussions, said it was clear that a strike killing Americans would force a stronger response than what the U.S. has done so far in the weeks since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and touched off a new conflagration in the Middle East.

One possibility is covert action that would see the U.S. strike Iran without claiming credit for it but sending a clear message regardless. The Biden administration could also target Iranian officials directly, as former President Donald Trump did when he ordered the killing of General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.

Regardless of the outcome, the attack presents Biden with a decision that will be one of the most consequential of his presidency. He wants to punish the perpetrators of the attack and deter Iran from its actions in the region. But doing so could put the U.S. into direct confrontation with the leadership in Tehran, which has already been emboldened in the region since the Hamas attack, launching attacks in Iraq and Pakistan.

He must also weigh the potential for further economic upheaval as the U.S. contends with Houthi militants - another Iranian proxy - that has roiled global shipping and sparked fears of fresh economic turmoil by targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea, which accounts for 12% of global trade.

Oil prices jumped after the deadly attack on U.S. troops and a Houthi missile strike on a fuel tanker on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude rose as much as 1.6% to the highest since November as the trading week began._Agencies.