Attacks by Iran's militia allies are placing the Biden administration in a bind

• The US is seeking to deter Iran and its proxies with retaliatory strikes.
• But attacks continue against US troops across the region.
• The US is attempting to strike back effectively without igniting a wider war.

The Iran-backed militias of its so-called "axis of resistance" are threatening more than three thousand American troops deployed to Iraq and Syria with increasingly dangerous attacks, putting the US administration in a bind: Strike back too hard and ignite a wider war or do too little and look weak in an election year.