The US has attacked targets in Iraq and Syria in response to the drone attack that killed three US service members in a base in northeast Jordan last week. Tehran and others have condemned the US' actions. Iran, Syria and Iraq all vehemently criticized US strikes which came in retaliation for a drone attack that killed three US soldiers in Jordan.   The US blames an Iran-backed umbrella group, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, for the last week's attack. The US military said it had hit more than 85 targets in Syria and Iraq, including control operation centers, intelligence centers, rockets and munition supply chain bases of militias and their Iranian sponsors "who facilitated attacks against US and Coalition forces." Tehran said the US strikes were a "strategic mistake." "Last night's attack on Syria and Iraq is an adventurous action and another strategic mistake by the US government, which will have no result other than intensifying tension and instability in the region," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement. Syria's Foreign Ministry issued a statement in the same vein, saying: "What (the US) committed has served to fuel conflict in the Middle East in a very dangerous way," while Iraq said that the airstrikes were a "violation of Iraqi sovereignty" and "pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences." "The outcomes will have severe implications on the security and stability in Iraq and the surrounding region," Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement.   Dozens killed in Iraq and Syria According to Iraqi government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi, the US strikes killed at least 16 people, including civilians, while wounding 23 others. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group monitoring the conflicts in Syria, said the strikes there killed no civilians, but at least 23 pro-Iran fighters, updating an earlier toll of 18. "The toll has risen to 23 dead: 10 pro-Iran fighters in the Deir Ezzor area and 13 in the Mayadeen area," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the Observatory head. He said nine of the fighters were Syrians and six were Iraqis.  Other pro-Iran forces were evacuating positions in Deir Ezzor for fear that more US strikes could be imminent, the Observatory said. Biden says US response to 'continue' The drone attack killed three US soldiers and injured dozen others at a small US base in Jordan near the border with Syria. In a statement, US President Joe Biden said he had attended the return of the remains of the three soldiers at Dover Airforce Base.  "This afternoon, at my direction, US military forces struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack US forces," Biden said. "Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing," Biden added. "The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: if you harm an American, we will respond." Iran denies responsibility for Jordan attack The series of US strikes lasted about 30 minutes, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, adding the Defense Department was still assessing the effect.  The Biden administration had made it clear that it wouldn't be just one hit, but a "tiered response" over time, meaning the strikes could only be the first of a set of responses by the Biden adminstration.   Iran has denied it was behind the attack on the US base in Jordan. On Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi repeated Tehran would retaliate if the US strikes were to target its interests, saying: We "will not start a war, but if a country, if a cruel force wants to bully us, the Islamic Republic of Iran will give a strong response." London also weighed in on the attacks, saying they support the US' "right to respond to attacks."   "The UK and US are steadfast allies," a British government spokesperson said in a statement. "We have long condemned Iran’s destabilising activity throughout the region, including its political, financial and military support to a number of militant groups." The EU, for its part, warned that the continuing instability in the Middle East as partly reflected by the US strikes was a danger to global security.   "The Middle East is a boiler that can explode. And certainly, there are attacks both on the Lebanon border; north and south; there are attacks in Syria; there are attacks in Iraq, attacks in the Red Sea," top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said.  He said the bloc called oneverybody to try to avoid an escalation." 

The King of Jordan  Abdullah II Thursday received Israeli new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at his residence in Amman to discuss regional developments. PM Bennett had stressed on his country's "readiness to double its supply of water to jordar ."The official added the meeting was "very positive", noting that it would open a "new era in the relations between the two countries." The source pointed out that the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, had also met with his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, to discuss mutual ties between the two countries. He explained that the two ministers had signed an agreement, under which Israel would sell 50 million cubic meters of additional water to Jordan this year. "Jordan is an important neighbour and partner," Lapid was quoted. He added that the two countries would "broaden economic cooperation." Lapid said the countries also agreed to explore increasing Jordan's exports to the West Bank to $700 million a year, from $160 million now. Source: Middle East Monitor EI