War with Iran? 3 Americans Killed in Strike, 170 Attacks on US Military Bases so Far

JERUSALEM, Israel – President Joe Biden pledged a response after the attack on a U.S. base in Jordan that killed three American servicemen and injured at least 30 others. The attack raises the possibility of a direct conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

At an event Sunday in South Carolina, President Biden announced the U.S. would choose the time and place for its response.

“I’m asking for a moment of silence for all three of our fallen soldiers," Biden told the gathering. After the pause, he said, “And we shall respond. God bless you all.” 

The attack also wounded at least 30 soldiers. The base served as a special operations facility to fight ISIS – the Islamic State.

Iran-backed militias have attacked U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq more than 170 times since mid-October. 

The American deaths raise the stakes dramatically in the region.

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Former Israeli intelligence official Avi Melamed told CBN News, “It's quite clear that the whole players in the region are actually looking to see what will be the United States reaction to that (attack). Needless to say, if there is not going to be any U.S. reaction, that is not going to contribute to the already declining image of the United States as a superpower."

Israeli and U.S. conflicts against Iranian proxies are spread throughout the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, who continue to attack shipping in and around the Red Sea, and Hamas in Gaza.

Melamed believes the source address for all the conflicts in the region is Iran. 

He cautioned, “So what we see – in (the) Gaza Strip, in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iraq, in the Red Sea – at the end of the day, all the strings are leading to one in one location only and this is Tehran. This is the mullahs' regime in Tehran. We have today a sample of the disaster, (their) vision and future that we, the Middle East and the world (will see) if the mullahs' regime is not going to be restrained forcefully.”

US Suspends Funding for UN Agency

Also over the weekend, the U.S., along with other countries including Canada, the U.K., Australia, and Finland, suspended funding to UNRWA, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.

The New York Times reported Israel presented the U.S. with evidence that UNRWA employees participated in the October 7th attacks near Gaza, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis.

According to the report, one UNRWA employee kidnapped a woman, another handed out ammunition, and a third took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be'eri, where Hamas murdered 97 Israelis. 

The White House said the suspension of aid might be just a first step.

“And we will, although we've already suspended any additional allocations to UNWRA, we'll certainly consider additional, you know, what, depending on the investigation, whether that requires any additional changes in the way we support UNWRA going forward."

The U.N. claims it's investigating the charges, but UNWRA critics say the agency has been part of the problem, not the solution, for a long time.

Adi Schwartz. co-author of the book, War of Return, told us, "I just want to remind you that cases of people working for UNRWA and at the same time are working for terrorist organizations has begun in the Sixties."  

He added, "(U.S.) Senators in the Sixties saw that people at the same time were receiving salaries from UNRWA and the PLO and that continued along the Seventies, the Eighties – there's nothing new here." 

Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing for the release of more than 100 hostages in Hamas captivity.

Israel said there are "significant gaps" after ceasefire talks between the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt, but maintained the talks have been "constructive."

The deal would include a pause in the fighting in exchange for the release of some or all of the hostages. 

This weekend, the IDF conducted a major exercise simulating an invasion of Lebanon to eliminate rocket attacks and border incursions. The military is reportedly close to controlling all of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, a strategic stronghold of Hamas.