Biden's retaliatory strikes in Middle East come with significant political risk: Experts

Jonathan Lord, director of the Middle East Security program at the Center for a New American Security and a former Defense Department official, told ABC News Biden is on a "tightrope" when it comes to how to respond.

"He's in a politically tough spot because policy would compel him to think about this and act with a scalpel," he said. "But this being an election this year, and this being probably the premier foreign policy issue Republicans are lining up to cudgel him with, he can't let policy be the only consideration here. Politics, of course, plays a role."

Lord said the fallout of the president appearing to not have acted strongly enough could be "incredibly damaging" despite the nuances involved.

"It basically gets down to bumper stickers of: Is the president tough enough on Iran? Is he an appeaser? Is he doing enough to constrain or to show them we can't be pushed around?" Lord added.

Read the full story and more from ABC News.