Good to be with you. I'm Katie Turin for R. A. Melber on this breaking news coverage.

The United States has now responded to the deaths of three American soldiers in Jordan.

The Pentagon conducting more than 85 airstrikes on three sites in Iraq and four sites in Syria.

The strikes targeted proxy militias and Iranian Kud's forces outside of Iran,

hitting more than half a dozen facilities, including command and

control operations, intelligence centers, weapon storage sites, and supply chain

facilities. Sites two US.S. officials tell NBC News

are directly linked to the drone attack in Jordan.

This will also not be a one day affair.

The U.S. says the response will be phased in a campaign that could

last for weeks. Quote, this is the start of these actions. They will unfold at times and

places of our choosing, said Secretary of Defense Austin in a statement.

The question now is not only how does Iran respond, but how do our allies in the region react? It is delicate. The president and

his top officials have repeatedly said they do not want a war with Iran and

they don't want to be dragged into a larger Middle East conflict.

Can they avoid it?

Iraq was already angry about US airstrikes against Iranian-backed groups there last week,

with a spokesperson for the Iraqi Prime Minister calling it a violation of sovereignty that

undermines years of cooperation. What do the Iraqis say now and why does the U.S. still

have such a large presence there in the first place?

We should also note the timing.

These strikes were launched less than two hours after President Biden welcomed home the

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