Iran admits firing barrage of missiles near US embassy in Iraq
IRAN has claimed responsibility for a missile barrage that struck near a sprawling US consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil yesterday, saying it was in retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard.
No injuries were reported in the attack, which marked a significant escalation in hostilities between the US and Iran that have often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on its website it launched the attack against an Israeli “strategic centre of conspiracy” in Irbil. It did not elaborate, but in a statement said Israel had itself been on the offensive, citing a recent strike that killed two Revolutionary Guards.
Earlier, a US defence official and Iraqi security officials said the strike was launched from neighbouring Iran.
One Iraqi official in Baghdad initially said several missiles had hit the US consulate in Irbil and that it was the target of the attack.
Later, Lawk Ghafari, the head of
Kurdistan’s foreign media office, said none of the missiles had struck the US facility but that areas around the compound had been hit.
A statement by the interior ministry of Iraq’s Kurdistan region said the missiles were launched from outside Iraq, from the east, without naming Iran.
The US defence official said it was still uncertain exactly how many missiles were fired and exactly where they landed. A second US official said there was no damage to any US government facility and there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and unoccupied.
Satellite broadcast channel Kurdistan24, which is located near the US consulate, went on air shortly after the attack, showing shattered glass and debris on its studio floor.
The attack came several days after Iran said it would retaliate for the Israeli strike near Damascus in Syria that killed the Revolutionary Guards.
Iran’s state-run Irna news agency yesterday quoted Iraqi media acknowledging the attacks in Irbil, without saying where they originated.
The missile barrage coincided with regional tensions. Negotiations in Vienna over Tehran’s nuclear deal hit a “pause” amid Russian demands on sanctions targeting Moscow over its war on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Iran suspended its secret Baghdad-brokered talks aimed at defusing years-long tensions with regional rival Saudi Arabia, after the peninsular power carried out its largest known mass execution in its modern history, with more than three dozen Shiites put to death.
The Iraqi security officials said there were no casualties from the Irbil attack, which they said happened after midnight and caused material damage in the area.
One of the Iraqi officials said the ballistic missiles were the Iranian-made Fateh-110.
Another American official said in a statement the US condemned what it called an “outrageous attack against Iraqi sovereignty and display of violence”.
US forces at Irbil’s airport compound have come under fire from rocket and drone attacks in the past, with US officials blaming Iran-backed groups.
The top US commander for the Middle East has repeatedly warned of an increasing threat of attack from Iran and Iranian-backed militias on troops and allies in Iraq and Syria.
In an interview in December, Marine General Frank Mckenzie said that, while US forces in Iraq have moved to a non-combat role, Iran and its proxies still want all American troops to leave the country. As a result, he said, more attacks may be triggered.
The Biden administration decided last July to end the US combat mission in Iraq by December 31, and American forces gradually moved to an advisory role last year. The troops will still provide air support and other military aid for Iraq’s fight against the so-called Islamic State.
The US presence in Iraq has long been a sore point for Tehran, but tensions rose after a US drone strike near Baghdad airport in January 2020 killed a top Iranian general.
In retaliation, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at al-asad air base, where US troops were stationed. More than 100 service personnel suffered traumatic brain injuries in the blasts.
The US condemned what it called an ‘outrageous display of violence’