Iran denied on Monday any involvement in a drone strike in Jordan that killed three US military personnel and stated that it does not seek a “expansion” of Middle Eastern conflict.
The deaths of three American soldiers in a strike in Jordan on Sunday were the first US military losses in the region since the Israel-Hamas conflict began.
According to US President Joe Biden, “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq” were responsible for the strike on the border base in Jordan’s northeast.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron reaffirmed a request for Iran “to de-escalate in the region”.
Iran denounced the “baseless accusations” as a “projection” and part of a “conspiracy of those who see their interests in dragging America’s foot into a new battle”.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not welcome the expansion of conflict in the region,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement, adding that Tehran “is not involved in the decisions of the resistance groups”.
Iran has previously stated that it considers it a “duty” to help what it refers to as “resistance groups” in the region, but that they are “independent” in their decision-making and actions.
According to the US Central Command, 34 soldiers were injured in Sunday’s strike, with eight requiring evacuation.
US forces are stationed at Tower 22 on Jordan’s border with Iraq and Syria as part of an international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group.
Tensions in the Middle East have risen since Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented onslaught on Israel on October 7, killing around 1,140 people, largely civilians, according to an AFP assessment of government numbers.
Israel has since started a relentless military operation that has killed at least 26,422 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Iran praised the Hamas attack as a “success” while denying any involvement.