Iran hits back after Trump claims it is planning Iraq attacks

TEHERAN - Iran’s military and diplomatic leadership has hit back at Donald Trump’s claims that its proxies were planning a sneak attack on US bases in Iraq, claiming Tehran only ever acts in selfdefence and has no proxies in Iraq, only allies.

The US and Iran are already at loggerheads over the impact of US sanctions on Tehran’s ability to fight the coronavirus pandemic, and the threat of a military attack on the US is likely to widen the dispute. The Iranian army chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri, said the recent spate of attacks on US bases in Iraq were nothing to do with Iran, but were “a natural response by the Iraqi people”. He said US forces were being closely monitored minute by minute and any US attack would produce the most severe response.

Trump on Wednesday said Iran or its proxies planned a sneak attack on American targets in Iraq, prompting the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, to hit back, tweeting: “Don’t be mislead [sic] by usual warmongers,” adding that “Iran has FRIENDS: No one can have MILLIONS of proxies. Unlike the US which surreptitiously lies, cheats & assassinates.”

It was not immediately clear what intelligence Trump had obtained to prompt him to issue his tweet on Wednesday, but he said: “Upon information and belief, Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on US troops and/ or assets in Iraq. If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!” At a subsequent press conference he indicated the US’s likely target would be Kata’ib Hezbollah, saying the US had “very good information on the group planning the attack”. He added: “It was led by Iran, not necessarily Iran, but by groups supported by Iran, but that to me is Iran.”

(The Guardian)