US President Joe Biden faces intensifying pressure to confront Iran directly after the country’s proxies killed three American soldiers in a drone strike in Jordan over the weekend, risking precisely the wider regional conflict that he’s trying to avoid, Report informs, citing Bloomberg.

A person familiar with the US position, who asked not to be identified while discussing private discussions, said it was clear that a strike, which also wounded at least 34, would force a stronger response than what the US has done so far in the weeks since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and touched off a new conflagration in the Middle East.

One possibility is covert action, which would see the US strike Iran without claiming credit for it but sending a clear message regardless. The Biden administration could also target Iranian officials directly, as former President Donald Trump did when he ordered the killing of General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.

Regardless of the outcome, the attack presents Biden with a decision that will be one of the most consequential of his presidency. He wants to punish the perpetrators of the attack and deter Iran from its actions in the region. But doing so could put the US into direct confrontation with the leadership in Tehran, which has already been emboldened in the region since the Hamas attack, launching attacks in Iraq and Pakistan.