White House says the U.S. is not seeking conflict with Iran

The White House said Friday that the U.S. is not seeking a conflict with Iran after President Joe Biden launched a retaliatory air strike over an American contractor being killed in Syria by an Iranian drone. 

An Iranian suicide drone killed a contractor and injured five U.S. servicemembers on Thursday at a maintenance facility on a Coalition base near al-Hasakah in northeast Syria.  

Biden responded by deploying ‘precision airstrikes’ against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, killing 11 pro-Iranian fighters. The Iranian-backed fighters responded by shooting off three rockets Friday morning. 

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby appeared on the morning shows Friday and was asked on CNN if the recent attacks could be considered an ‘act of war’ by Iran. 

‘We don’t seek a war with Iran. We’re not looking for an armed conflict with that country or another war in the region,’ Kirby said.

‘We do seek to protect our mission in Syria, which is about defeating ISIS, and we do seek to protect our people in our facilities against these Iran-backed groups,’ he added. 

He wasn’t able to give details about the identity of the U.S. contractor besides confirming that he was an American citizen. 

‘We’re trying to give the family some time and space here to grieve,’ Kirby explained. 

On Morning Joe, Kirby said it was clear the Iran-backed group resented the U.S. presence in the region. 

‘They don’t want to see the United States’ presence in Iraq, they don’t want to see it in Syria and they’re retaliating, they’re acting out to limit our ability to go after ISIS in both those countries and to try and force our hand to leave,’ Kirby said. 

He also said that the three rocket strikes that were launched at the US base at the Al-Omar oil field didn’t do any damage. 

‘It is not uncommon when we take a retaliatory strike like this for them to answer right back with some ineffective rocket fire and these were largely, completely ineffective,’ Kirby said. ‘Nobody was hurt, no U.S. casualties at all.’

‘It was sort of an instinctual reaction that get from these militant groups whenever we do this kind of thing,’ he continued. ‘But that said, we obviously are going to stay vigilant for any other responses from Iran or from their militant groups in Syria, in Iraq.’