OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that the U.S. would respond “forcefully” to protect its personnel after U.S. forces retaliated with airstrikes on sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard following an attack Thursday by a suspected Iranian-made drone that killed a U.S. contractor and wounded six other Americans in northeast Syria.
“The United States does not, does not seek conflict with Iran,” Biden said in Ottawa, Canada, where he is on a state visit. But he said Iran and its proxies should be prepared for the U.S. “to act forcefully to protect our people. That’s exactly what happened last night.” Activists said the U.S. bombing killed at least four people.
While it’s not the first time the U.S. and Iran have traded strikes in Syria, the attack and the U.S. response threaten to upend recent efforts to deescalate tensions across the wider Middle East, whose rival powers have made steps toward détente in recent days after years of turmoil.
According to U.S. officials, two simultaneous attacks were launched at U.S. forces in Syria Friday. Officials said that based on preliminary information, there was a rocket attack at the Conoco plant, and one U.S. service member was injured but is in stable condition. At about the same time, several drones were launched at Green Village, where U.S. troops are also based. One official said that all but one of the drones was shot down, and there were no U.S. injuries there. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
On Friday night, two Syrian opposition activist groups reported a new wave of airstrikes on eastern Syria that hit positions of Iran-backed militias after rockets were fired at a Conoco gas plant that has a base housing American troops. Several U.S. officials said the U.S. did not launch any attacks in late Friday.