A satellite image of the American “Tower 22” base, which was targeted by a drone in northeastern Jordan (Reuters)

Tehran -

The day after the drone attack on an American base in Jordan that left 3 dead and dozens injured among American soldiers, Tehran officially denied its connection to the attack.

Iranian circles read that Washington accused “armed groups supported by Iran” of being behind the incident, and vowed to respond to it, in the context of escalating tension in the region, and warned against the consequences of rolling the ball of indirect confrontation and slipping into friction with uncalculated consequences.

After US President Joe Biden vowed to hold all those responsible for the attack accountable “at the appropriate time and in the manner we choose,” as he said, and following British Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s statement and his call on Tehran to “stop escalation,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani considered - on Monday - that these accusations “Its purpose is political, and it aims to overturn the facts in the region.”

Observers in Iran are unanimous in describing the attack on the logistical support base at “Tower 22” of the Jordanian defense network (northeast of the Kingdom) and near the border with Syria, as a “dangerous escalation,” but they were divided regarding the nature of the American response, the implementation of Washington’s threats, and the goals that the escalation may affect. .

Adventure and escalation

Meanwhile, the former Iranian ambassador to Britain, Jalal Sadatian, links the targeting of American interests in the region with the United States’ absolute support for Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip, anticipating a regional escalation if this support continues to “exterminate” the people of Gaza.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Sadatian pointed out that a number of American soldiers were killed for the first time since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza as a result of resistance factions’ attacks on Washington’s interests, describing the latest development as “a natural result of the Zionist-American adventure aimed at restricting the hands of the resistance and releasing Israel’s hands to continue committing genocide.” collective in Gaza.

He believed that the attack that claimed the lives of 3 American soldiers came after the issuance of the International Court of Justice’s decision in the lawsuit filed by South Africa regarding the Israeli war on Gaza.

The former Iranian diplomat considered that the court’s decision gives the resistance factions international legitimacy to put pressure on the United States - as Tel Aviv’s biggest supporter - to prevent genocide in the Gaza Strip, and he was surprised by its continued provision of this absolute support following the decision.

He reads the American and British accusations against Iran of supporting Islamic resistance movements that target American interests and ships heading to Israel through the Red Sea “in the context of the rampant escalation in the region,” warning against falling into the Israeli trap aimed at putting Tehran and Washington in a military confrontation.

Close encounter

In light of the dangerous regional escalation that Sadatian calls for containing through a smart policy that prevents Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from his hidden intentions to burn the entire region to save his political life, another Iranian segment believes that a confrontation between the Islamic Republic and the United States is just around the corner.

In response to a question directed by Al Jazeera Net to the political activist and researcher in Middle East affairs, Ahmed Zaidabadi, regarding the possibility of Washington launching a military strike against Iranian interests in response to the attack on an American base in Jordan, the response was positive.

Zaidabadi believes that the possibility of American retaliation and harming Iran’s interests is “very possible,” and that it will be a response to Iraqi resistance movements targeting the logistical support base in Jordan. He suggested that American retaliation will be “soon” and that its targets will be outside Iranian borders, especially in Syria and Iraq.

He also believes that the Iranian-American confrontation will be inevitable in the absence of a strong and clear political will among the leaders of Tehran and Washington to agree on major regional files, warning that developments could slide into a major military confrontation between them.

The researcher added that developments in the Middle East are getting worse day by day, and that wavering policies are unable to address the raging escalation in the region. He concluded that stopping the aggression against Gaza does not mean a decline in tension and confrontation between Tehran and Washington, but rather “it will equate to a transition to a more dangerous stage.”

A powder keg

On the other hand, the researcher in military affairs, Muhammad Mehdi Yazdi, rules out Washington launching a military strike against Iranian interests, explaining that despite the “brutal media campaign” against Tehran, American leaders avoid linking the attacks to it, because that will expose them to criticism and great pressure demanding that Iran be confronted in a serious manner. direct.

He believed - in an interview with Al Jazeera Net - that Washington does not want to confront Tehran at the current stage, because firing a coup de grace on their relations that fluctuate between the states of “no peace and no war” would be tantamount to setting fire to the region’s powder tank, which could endanger American interests.

In his reading of the attack on the American base, the military researcher believes that it comes to divert the American focus from the Red Sea region, and to reduce the attacks targeting Yemen from time to time in response to Houthi operations on ships heading to Israel.

He said that the Israeli aggression on Gaza brought the “Zionist-American axis” into a complex confrontation with the axis of resistance, and that the increasing attacks on American interests in the region send a clear message that there is no security for these interests following the occupation’s aggression, which enjoys broad American support, which opens the door to a settlement of the axis. The resistance has its calculations with Washington.

Source: Al Jazeera