TOP STORIES
Drone Strike Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers in Jordan, White House Says | New York Times
Three U.S. service members were killed in Jordan on Sunday and at least 34 others were injured in what the Biden administration said was a drone attack from an Iran-backed militia, the first known American military fatalities from hostile fire in the turmoil spilling over from Israel’s war with Hamas. The attack happened at a remote logistics outpost in northeast Jordan called Tower 22 where the borders of Syria, Iraq and Jordan converge. The one-way attack drone hit near the outpost’s living quarters, causing injuries that ranged from minor cuts to brain trauma, a U.S. military official said.
President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. “shall respond” after three American troops were killed and dozens more were injured in an overnight drone strike in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border. Biden blamed Iran-backed militias for the first U.S. fatalities after months of strikes by such groups against American forces across the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Biden, who was traveling in South Carolina, asked for a moment of silence during an appearance at a Baptist church’s banquet hall. “We had a tough day last night in the Middle East. We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases,” he said. After the moment of silence, Biden added, “and we shall respond.” With an increasing risk of military escalation in the region, U.S. officials were working to conclusively identify the precise group responsible for the attack, but they have assessed that one of several Iranian-backed groups was behind it.
Iran Denies Involvement In Deadly Attack On US Base, Ministry Says | ABC News
The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied on Monday that the country was behind an attack that killed three American service members at a U.S. base in Jordan on Sunday. Thirty-four American service members were also injured in the drone attack near the Syrian border, according to U.S. officials. The U.S. was collecting information on Sunday, but officials "know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq," President Joe Biden said Sunday. Nasser Kanaani, an Iranian ministry spokesperson, on Monday said accusations that Iran was behind the attack amounted to a "repetition of baseless accusations." "The groups in the region do not take orders from Iran," Kanaani said. "War is not a solution. An immediate cease-fire in Gaza can lead to the return of peace."
UANI IN THE NEWS
Iran Executes 14 People In One Morning, Exploiting Regional Crisis To Breed Fear | I News
"… Execution is not something new in the Islamic Republic. It’s a part of their identity,” said Saeid Golkar, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Tennessee and senior adviser at United Against Nuclear Iran. “But now, with the world’s attention turned towards the Middle East crisis, they have seized the momentum to escalate executions and instil fear in people. Their belief is in achieving victory through the propagation of fear.” He anticipates that the Islamic Republic will carry out more executions in the following weeks, taking advantage of the world’s distraction with the escalating tension in the Middle East.
"… All of this hoopla over a court that has no enforcement power,” Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and Middle East Institute scholar, said. “Another UN special.” The ICJ ordered Israel to take urgent actions to prevent genocide in Gaza and to see an immediate increase of humanitarian aid to the region, as well as provide a report at the end of the month outlining its progress – several of which the country “is already implementing,” Brodsky said. Israel has stated that it is abiding by international humanitarian law in its counteroffensive efforts and that is taking strong measures to avoid civilian casualties. Israel has also allowed humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran’s Foreign Minister Speaks To Qatar About Tehran’s Assets | Jerusalem Post
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani discussed the use of Tehran’s assets in a phone conversation the Iranian diplomat had with his counterpart in Doha. According to the report at Iran’s Tasnim News, the Iranians were re-assured that “implementation” of a deal for Iran to access billions of dollars prior to October 7 would take place. This comes despite pressure to block Iran from the frozen assets that had been transferred to Doha in September. The story of the Iranian assets is complex, but basically it involves $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds that were transferred to Qatari banks from South Korea in September. The funds were released as part of a prisoner deal. But the US Congress has sought to block the funds because of Iran’s support for the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
Exclusive – US, Allies Mulling Fresh Sanctions On Iran | Iran International
Iran International has learned that the US and its European allies are considering boosting sanctions on Iran due to Tehran's recent regional behavior, particularly its support for Houthi forces. "Following the threats posed by the Islamic Republic in the region, especially its support for the Houthis and proxy groups in Iraq in recent months, which led to the formation of an international coalition in the Red Sea, recently, the United States and some Western countries have initiated discussions to intensify sanctions against Iran,” a diplomatic source familiar with ongoing discussions told Iran International. The diplomat added that the sanctions can be similar to what was in place before the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2015. Iran International asked the US State Department to comment on the diplomat’s revelations, but an official said Washington does not comment on its potential sanctions policies. However, the administration did not dismiss the revelations.
MISSILE PROGRAM
Iran Launches Three Satellites Into Space As Tensions Rise | NPR
Iran said Sunday it successfully launched three satellites into space with a rocket that had multiple failures in the past, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehran's ballistic missiles. The launch comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East over Israel's continued war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparking fears of a regional conflict. While Iran has not intervened militarily in the conflict, it has faced increased pressure within its theocracy for action after a deadly Islamic State suicide bombing earlier this month and as proxy groups like Yemen's Houthi rebels conduct attacks linked to the war. Meanwhile, Western nations remain worried about Iran's rapidly expanding nuclear program. Footage released by Iranian state television showed a nighttime launch for the Simorgh rocket. An Associated Press analysis of the footage showed that it took place at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran's rural Semnan.
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
Gunmen In Iran Kill Nine Pakistanis Days After Tit-For-Tat Strikes | Reuters
Unidentified gunmen killed nine Pakistani workers in a restive southeastern border area of Iran on Saturday, Pakistan's ambassador and a rights group said, amid efforts by the two countries to mend ties after tit-for-tat attacks. "Deeply shocked by horrifying killing of 9 Pakistanis in Saravan. Embassy will extend full support to bereaved families," the Pakistani ambassador to Tehran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, said on the X platform. "We called upon Iran to extend full cooperation in the matter." The Baluch rights group Haalvash said on its website that the victims were Pakistani labourers who lived at an auto repair shop where they worked. Three others were wounded, it said.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Haley Pressed During Rally By Protestor Over Her Calls For Sanctions On Iran | The Hill
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was confronted during a Sunday rally by a protestor, who urged the White House hopeful against more wars as she called for greater sanctions on Iran amid the increased tensions in the Middle East. Haley, speaking to a rally in Conway, S.C., on Sunday, called out the White House’s loosening of sanctions on Iran and suggested the administration’s “weak” leadership has contributed to the recent attacks on U.S. forces and coalitions by Iranian-backed groups or proxies. “And then he [Biden] just continued to be weak. When have we ever let men and women sit and take strikes like that? And do nothing to stop to stop it? He’s done nothing,” said Haley, a former United Nations ambassador. “He’s got to put the sanctions back on. He’s got to stop trying to get into an Iran deal that doesn’t help us and he’s got to start making sure that we show American strength. That’s the only way we will get that done.”
‘F---Ing Lunatics': Deadly Jordan Attacks Spur Open GOP Feud | Politico
Iran-backed attacks in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members are intensifying the growing GOP divide over national security, as senior Hill Republicans calling for immediate retaliation clash with Trump-style isolationists. While former President Donald Trump himself gave a measured response to the attacks, influential conservative voice Tucker Carlson called two senators who pushed for a swift U.S. military response against Iran after the attack “f***ing lunatics” in a post on X. Carlson trained his ire against Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who called for the U.S. to: “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard,” and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who posted “Target Tehran,” before clarifying that it was not a call to bomb Iranian civilians. The response to the attacks in Jordan reflects the escalating feud between the GOP’s more traditional foreign policy hawks and its ascendant isolationist-leaning wing, even as both sides coalesce around Trump’s bid to return to the White House.
Donald Trump Reacts To US Troops Killed By Iran-Backed Militants | Newsweek
Former President Donald Trump expressed his "profound sympathies" to the families of the three U.S. service members killed in an attack by Iran-backed militants on Sunday, blaming President Joe Biden for "this terrible day." The Pentagon confirmed to Newsweek on Sunday that three U.S. military personnel were killed and more than 30 injured by a drone strike in Jordan, a close Middle Eastern ally to the United States. Biden blamed the strike on Iran-backed militants, with officials saying the attack had been launched from Syria. The troops were stationed near the Jordan-Syrian border. "This brazen attack on the United States is yet another horrific and tragic consequence of Joe Biden's weakness and surrender," Trump, who is currently running for the GOP's presidential nomination to again challenge Biden, wrote in a series of Truth Social posts about the attack. He went on to tout his tough stance against Iran as president, saying that this attack "would NEVER have happened if" he was still in the White House.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Executes Four Alleged ‘Terrorists,’ Claiming Men Were Linked To Israel Spy Agency | TIME
Four men Iran believed to be linked to Israeli spy agency Mossad were executed on Monday, Iranian state media reported, amid escalating tensions between the longtime foes and concerns of a widening conflict in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war rages on. The state-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency described the four people—who were presumably hanged (Iran’s default method of execution) and who have been previously identified as Mohsen Mazloum, Pejman Fatehi, Vafa Azarbar, and Hajir Faramarzi—as “terrorists.” Iranian security forces arrested the four men in mid-2022, claiming that they were suspected of a plot to bomb a factory that was affiliated with the defense ministry in the city of Najafabad.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Iran International Reveals Tehran-Based Cyber Group Targeting Israeli Hospital | Iran International
Iran International can reveal that the Islamic Republic’s Intelligence Ministry conducts cyberattacks against Israeli civilian targets via a cover tech company. The cyber group “Black Shadow” (“Saye-ye Siah” in Persian), which targeted Ziv Medical Center in the northern Israeli city of Safed in November is in fact a tech company which works under the registered name of “Raahkarha-ye Fanavari-e Etela’at-e Jahatpardaz.” According to Iran International’s investigative journalist Mojtaba Pourmohsen, the two operational offices of the “Black Shadow” cyber group are located in Tehran. The website of the company states that a group of “faithful and committed youth” has launched it in line with “The Second Step of the Revolution.”
CONGRESS & IRAN
Congressional leaders on Sunday mourned three American service members killed in a drone strike in Jordan and called for retaliation against the Iran-backed militants whom the U.S. says is responsible. The deadly drone strike marks the first deaths of U.S. troops in the line of fire since the Israel-Hamas war broke out after Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack. The White House is supporting Israel against Hamas but has tried to contain the conflict out of concern for sparking a broader war in the Middle East, even as various fighters, aided by Iran, have carried out attacks on U.S. forces and others in opposition to Israel. Until Sunday's strike, the U.S. had undertaken a series of retaliatory operations on the Iranian proxies. Gen. CQ Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently told ABC News' Martha Raddatz in an interview that he believes Iran, a regional power with major rivalries in the Middle East, does not want a war with the U.S.
Although the Biden administration promised to “hold all those responsible to account,” Republicans in the Senate immediately criticized the administration and called for a harsher military response against Iran. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a longtime critic of Iran, said the Biden administration’s policy of air strikes against Iranian proxy groups has so far failed. “[Defense] Secretary [Lloyd] Austin’s efforts to deter aggression against our forces in the region has failed miserably. I’ve long since lost confidence in the Biden national security team to deter Iran,” Graham said in a press release. “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.” In a statement, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said the “appeasement of Iran must end. It’s time for clear and decisive action, and Iran must be held accountable for the malign activities of its proxies.” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was much more succinct in a post on X: “Target Tehran.” Cornyn later clarified in another post that he specifically meant to target the Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today released the following statement after an attack in Jordan by Iran-backed militants killed three U.S. service members and injured 25: “Joe Biden emboldened Iran for years by tolerating attacks on our troops, bribing the ayatollahs with billions of dollars, and appeasing them to no end. He left our troops as sitting ducks and now three are dead and dozens wounded, sadly as I’ve predicted would happen for months. The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East. Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief. “On behalf of Arkansans, I extend my deepest condolence to the families of our brave fallen warriors. May God comfort them as He welcomes their loved ones into His embrace. And may God quickly and completely heal their wounded comrades.”
GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN
Iran-Backed Houthis Continue Red Sea Attacks Hitting Oil Tanker | Reuters
Iran-backed Houthis have claimed responsibility for a missile attack that set a British oil tanker on fire in the Gulf of Aden Friday night local time. “In vindication of the oppressed Palestinian people, and in response to the American-British aggression against our country, Yemen naval forces targeted the British oil ship (Marlin Luanda) in the Gulf of Aden,” a spokesperson for the group said in a televised statement. “The strike was direct, and resulted in the burning of the vessel, by virtue of Allah.” Shipping data suggests the Marlin Luanda was heading towards Singapore under the flag of the Marshall Islands. It was hit by a missile 60 nautical miles southeast of Aden in Yemen, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations. Reports suggest the tanker is carrying Russian naphtha. This fully contradicts Houthi claims that they target vessels bound for Israel of linked to Israeli interests.
OTHER FOREIGN AFFAIRS
UK PM Sunak Urges Iran To De-Escalate Tensions After Jordan Drone Strike | Reuters
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was concerned about tensions in the Middle East and urged Iran to de-escalate, after an attack that killed three U.S. service members in northeastern Jordan near Syria's border. Sunak said Britain "absolutely condemned" the drone attacks which U.S. President Joe Biden said had been carried out by Iran-backed militants. "We are concerned and would urge Iran to continue to de-escalate tensions in the region," Sunak told broadcasters on Monday. "We stand resolutely with our allies to bring stability and peace to the region and that's what we continue to work towards."