U. S. condemns Iran for ‘ reckless’ missile strikes on northern Iraq

THE United States has condemned Iran over ballistic missile strikes on Iraq’s northern city of Irbil on Monday night, calling them “reckless and imprecise”. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck what they claimed were an Israeli “spy headquarters” in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdistan Region.

Four civilians were killed and six hurt in the attack, local authorities said.

Iraq recalled its ambassador from Tehran, condemning the strikes as a “blatant violation” of sovereignty. There has been no comment from Israel.

The Revolutionar y Guards also said they carried out missile strikes on “terrorist bases” in Syria in response to a recent suicide bombing in Iran claimed by the Islamic State ( IS) group.

In a separate development yesterday morning, Kurdish counter- terrorism forces said they had shot three armed drones flying over Irbil’s airport, where American and international forces are stationed, Reuters news agency reported.

There was no immediate claim, but an umbrella group of Iran- backed militias known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has said it was behind similar attacks. The Iranian strikes come amid heightened tensions across the Middle East since the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Iranbacked Palestinian group Hamas began on October 7. Iran has declared that it does not want to get involved in a wider conflict, but groups in its so- called “Axis of Resistance” ha ve been carrying out attacks on Israel and its allies to show solidarity with the Palestinians.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement has exchanged cross- border fire with Israeli forces; Shia militias ha ve launched drones and missiles at America forces in Iraq and Syria; and Y emen’s Houthi rebels have attacked ships in the Red Sea.

Israel has reportedly carried out strikes that killed a Hamas leader in Lebanon and a Revolutionar y Guards commander in Syria, while the US has killed an Iraqi militia leader in an airstrike in Iraq and bombed Houthi targets in Yemen.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council said multiple ballistic missiles launched by the Revolutionary Guards struck civilian- populated areas of Irbil around 23: 30 local time ( 20: 30 GMT) on Monday.

Local news outlet Ruda w reported that loud explosions shook the city and that several residential buildings on the road between Irbil and the n ortheastern suburb of Pirmam were damaged heavily. Peshra w Dizayee, a multimillionaire real estate magnate, was killed when a missile hit his home, the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party said.

An 11- month- old baby was also among the dead, according to Rudaw.

The Revolutionar y Guards said in a statement that the missile strikes were a

“re spon se to the recent evil acts of the Zionist regime in martyring ( Revolutionar y Guards) and resistance commanders”.