As if the Mideast region and the world for that matter needs another crisis to worry about, the Pentagon is talking military retaliation. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday that President Trump has issued the authority to potentially "do what we need to do."   

"We're going to take this one step at a time, but we've got to hold the perpetrators accountable," Esper said. "You don't get to shoot at our bases and kill and wound Americans and get away with it."

The top general said the Iran-backed militias were to blame and that the US can identify the culprit with a "high degree of certainty". 

Later in the day Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon: "I have spoken with the president. He's given me the authority to do what we need to do, consistent with his guidance. And, you know — if that becomes the case," according to Reuters.