Mideast crisis: US plans further Mideast retaliation as Blinken heads to region

John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, at the White House last month.Credit. .. Doug Mills/The New York Times

Senior US national security officials said Sunday that President Biden had ordered new reprisals following the murder of three soldiers. by Iranian-backed militias, but declined to say when and how it would be carried out.

The officials' comments followed dozens of military strikes. Friday by American forces on targets in Iraq and Syria. Officials said they were still assessing the effects of the strikes, but believed they degraded the militias' ability to attack U.S. forces.

"The President was clear when he ordered them and when he led them, that this was the beginning of our response and that there would be more upcoming measures,” Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” ”

Mr. Sullivan said he did not want to “telegraph our moves” by revealing details of future actions. And, he added, the president was trying to calibrate his responses to avoid a sharp escalation of fighting in the Middle East.

John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, rejected criticism from Republican lawmakers who accused the administration of waiting too long — nearly a week — after the three service members were killed by a bomb attack. drone at a base in Jordan, near the border with Syria. .

“You want to do this deliberately,” Mr. Kirby said on “Fox News Sunday.” “You want to carefully select your targets. You want to make sure all the settings are in place to have good effects, including taking the weather into account. I mean, these attacks used manned aircraft. You want to make sure your pilots can get on and off safely. »

Mr. Kirby also rejected calls from some lawmakers in both parties for the president to seek specific authorization from Congress — which has the constitutional authority to declare war — before pursuing military actions in the Middle East.

Mr. Kirby cited the role of the President as detailed in the Constitution.

“The President acts consistent with his responsibilities under Article 2 as commander in chief,” he said. “These are self-defense actions that we are taking to prevent and deny these groups the ability to target our troops and facilities.”

Smoke rises from inside Gaza on Sunday.Credit...Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Hamas officials were still evaluating the framework of a proposal to suspend fighting in the Gaza Strip and release Israeli hostages who were in captivity...