Washington:

President Joe Biden faced intense political pressure on Monday to retaliate against Iran for a deadly drone strike on U.S. forces, posing a major challenge to Democrats in an election year.

An attack on Iran would significantly heighten the risk of a broader war that Biden says he is trying to avoid, not to mention the potential for more American coffins to be brought home just months before the polls begin.

But with Republicans urging the 81-year-old to strike directly at Iran, Biden can no longer show weakness as he struggles with low approval ratings ahead of a rematch with former President Donald Trump.

“He is under tremendous pressure and the government is in a lose-lose situation,” Colin Clark, research director at the Soufan Center in New York, told AFP.

“I think he’s going to be criticized by those who say he’s weak and also by those who say he’s gone too far. So, damned if you do, damned if you don’t. “

The White House said on Monday that Biden was “weighing his options” for a “very important” response to the Jordan base attack that killed three U.S. troops, the first since the Israel-Hamas war began. soldiers killed in hostilities on 7 October.

Biden himself said “we will respond” at a campaign event at a South Carolina church on Sunday, one of a series of events he has held in recent days as he seeks re-election.

Iran denied any link to the attack, which Biden blamed on Iranian-backed militia groups.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby strongly denied that Biden’s decision would be affected by the election.

“He is not thinking about political calculations, polls or the election calendar as he works to protect our troops ashore and our ships at sea,” he told reporters.

“Any suggestion to the contrary is offensive.”

-“Attack Iran Now”-

But the issue has become a political weapon among Republicans, especially Trump, as he seeks to return to the White House in the November election and avenge his 2020 loss to Biden.

Trump described the deaths as “the consequences of Joe Biden’s weakness and capitulation” – focusing on a deal the Biden administration struck with Iran last year to free American captives in exchange for unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian dollars funds.

He could also point to the fact that he ordered a U.S. airstrike in 2020 that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qasem Soleimani — though Trump also acknowledged that despite “emotions” , but called off another airstrike on Iran with 10 minutes left in 2019. Loaded. “

Other Republicans have also given notice that they will use Iran as a test case for Biden’s strength ahead of the election.

“The world is watching now for signs that the president is finally ready to flex American power,” Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said.

Lindsey Graham, the hawkish leader of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged Biden to “hit Iran now. Hit them hard.”

However, the dilemma facing Biden is huge.

A direct strike on Iranian territory would be a huge escalation, but even smaller actions targeting Tehran’s proxies could exacerbate the conflict while destabilizing ceasefire efforts in Gaza.

Further engagement would undermine Biden’s valuable policy of extricating the United States from “forever wars” in the Middle East — even as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on his watch led to a Taliban takeover.

Clark said: “There is a domestic political risk that Biden alienates some of his base of progressives, anti-war people, and at the same time opens himself up to accusations that he wags the dog.” The U.S. president launches war to distract from domestic politics problem attention.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)