Iran denies links to Jordan drone strike that killed 3 US troops

Iran denied Monday any links to a drone strike in Jordan that killed three US military personnel and said it was not seeking an "expansion" of conflict in the Middle East.

The killing of three American troops on Sunday in a strike in Jordan marked the first US military losses in the region since the Israel-Hamas war began.

US President Joe Biden said "radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq" were behind the strike on the frontier base in Jordan's northeast.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron reiterated a call for Iran "to de-escalate in the region".

Iran lambasted what it described as "baseless accusations" and said they were a "projection" and part of a "conspiracy of those who see their interests in dragging America's foot into a new battle".

"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not welcome the expansion of conflict in the region," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement, adding that Tehran "is not involved in the decisions of the resistance groups".

Iran has previously said it sees it as "duty" to support what it calls "resistance groups" in the region but insists they are "independent" in decision and action.

Sunday's strike also left 34 personnel wounded, eight of whom required evacuation, according to the US Central Command.

US troops operate at the base known as Tower 22 near Jordan's border with Iraq and Syria as part of an international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Tensions have surged in the Middle East since Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, leaving around 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

Israel has since launched a relentless military offensive that has killed at least 26,422 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Iran hailed the Hamas attack as a "success" but denied any involvement.