The ruling class of the United States claims that they don’t “seek conflict with Iran,” but won’t rule out attacking in retaliation for drone strikes on military bases in Iran and Syria.  The Pentagon said American forces were attacked by Iran-backed militants at least 13 times in the Middle East in the last week.

“My warning to the ayatollah [is] that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond, and he should be prepared,” ruler Joe Biden told reporters, referring to Iran’s supreme leader. It would be unlike the U.S. to not retaliate in some manner considering the war-mongering nature of the ruling class.

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“We will always maintain the inherent right of self-defense. And if there is a response, should we choose to have one, we would do that at a time and place of our choosing,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday according to a report by ABC News. “We are preparing for this escalation both in terms of defending our forces and responding decisively,” he said.

As tensions continue to rise, the chances of the U.S. retaliating also rise. Leaders from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group, and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, all of whom, the U.S. says, are sponsored by Iran, reportedly met in Beirut on Wednesday.

 Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week”: “We’re concerned about potential escalation. In fact, what we’re seeing is the prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region.”

“The United States does not seek conflict with Iran. We do not want this war to widen,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. “But if Iran or its proxies attack U.S. personnel anywhere, make no mistake: We will defend our people, we will defend our security — swiftly and decisively.”

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