Iran Fires On US Held Facilities In Iraq—Dubbed Operation Martyr Soleimani
On Tuesday night, Iran fired several missiles into Iraq, which reportedly targeted military sites held by the US. The attacks appear as retaliation for the drone strikes recently launched by America that resulted in the death of one of Iran’s top generals.
Those taking credit are The Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, with one Iranian politician taking to Twitter to tweet the Iranian flag. This was seen as a definitive swipe at our President, Donald Trump, who posted a picture of the American flag on his twitter feed, after the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
In a statement issued by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps: “We warn the Great Satan, the arrogant American regime that any new invasions and aggression will result in more painful and pounding responses.”
There were expectations that, with the recent developments, that a feeling of fear on a global level would be sparked due to a possible US war in the Middle East. Revenge had been vowed, by Iranian leaders, in response to Soleimani’s death.
US Intelligence blamed Soleimani for the death recently of an American military contractor, as well as being the mastermind behind orchestrating hundreds of roadside bombs.
Beginning at 5:30 pm EST Tuesday evening, the Pentagon estimated that there were more than a dozen missiles launched that originated from Iran. Jonathan Huffman, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said: “It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US military and coalition personal at Al-Assad and Irbil.”
Hoffman went on to state that the Pentagon and officials are still assessing the initial battle damage. In a comment to ABC News, from a senior administration official: “We are not seeing any American casualties at this moment.”
The same official reported that of the Iranian missiles launched, about one-quarter of them “failed,” simply meaning they were intercepted before hitting their targets or missed there targets completely.
Stephanie Grisham, White House press secretary, stated that the President, and his staff, had been aware of the US facilities in Iraq being fired upon. She assured the press that the President had been fully briefed and was watching the situation closely, as well as consulting with his national security team.
In a statement made by an Iranian news outlet, ISNA, the missile attack was being referred to as “Operation Martyr Soleimani.” The outlet went on to say that the targets of the ground-to-ground missiles fired were intended for “terrorist and invasive US forces.”
Will Trump stay true to his word and meet any aggression with retaliation of his own?