Washington has sent a message to Iran saying that it did not want an open war and warned that escalation would be met with US retaliatory action.

Iranian sources told Al-Jazeera Arabic that “The US sent more than one message to Tehran over the past two days via third parties.”

The report adds that Tehran rejected Washington's threats and said targeting its territory is a red line, and crossing the line would be met with an appropriate response.

“Tehran's message said that it does not want a war with Washington either, but it will forcefully confront any American adventure.”

Iranian-backed militants carried out a drone attack on US troops in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, resulting in the deaths of three US service members and injuring over 40 others with five suffering from traumatic brain injuries.

Since October, there have been over 160 recorded attacks targeting American soldiers in Iraq and Syria. However, less than ten percent of the attacks have been retaliated against. Critics of Biden argue that it is precisely such an imbalance in aggression that has resulted in the loss of three soldiers' lives.

The incident marked the first deadly strike against US forces since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October, signaling a significant escalation in the tensions gripping the Middle East.