STORY: U.S. not seeking war with Iran after soldiers killed in drone attack, White House says
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 29, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 30, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:19
LOCATION: Washington D.C.
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JOHN KIRBY, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council
2. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State
3. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JOHN KIRBY, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council
4. various of the White House

STORYLINE:

The White House said Monday that the United States will not go to war with Iran after three U.S. soldiers were killed in the Middle East in a drone attack the Joe Biden administration attributed to Iran-backed militias.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JOHN KIRBY, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council
"We are not looking for a war with Iran. We're not looking to escalate here. This attack over the weekend was exculpatory. Make no mistake about it, and it requires a response. Make no mistake about that. I will not get ahead of the president's decision-making."

In a written statement on Sunday, Biden vowed that the United States will take action to hold those responsible for the attack to account "at a time and in a manner (of) our choosing."
   
Kirby's remarks were later echoed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
   
SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State
"We want to prevent this conflict from spreading, so we are intent on doing both, that is standing up for our people when they're attacked, while at the same time working every single day to prevent the conflict from growing and spreading."

Three U.S. soldiers were killed and more than 40 others were wounded in the drone attack on Saturday night U.S. Eastern Time targeting U.S. forces stationed in northeast Jordan near the border with Syria, according to an update from Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh at a separate press conference Monday.
   
The Pentagon on Monday identified the three fallen soldiers, all of whom were members of a U.S. Army Reserve unit.
  
Citing anonymous officials, U.S. media reported Monday that the reason the one-way attack drone slipped U.S. defenses to successfully carry out the attack was that U.S. personnel confused the "enemy drone" with one of their own returning to the U.S. base from a surveillance mission.
   
SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JOHN KIRBY, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council
"I can't corroborate those accounts by U.S. officials. The Department of Defense is, as you would expect them to do, going through all the forensics here to figure out exactly what happened and how to make sure it doesn't happen again. And I certainly would not get ahead of them on that."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Washington D.C.
(XHTV)