US condemns Iran for ‘reckless’ attacks on Iraq
The United States has criticized Iran for its missile attacks near the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, describing them as “a reckless and imprecise series of strikes.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed to have targeted Israeli “spy headquarters” in northern Iraq using ballistic missiles.
Iraq’s Kurdistan Security Council reported four fatalities and six injuries in Monday’s attack, prompting Iraq to condemn the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty.
These events unfold against a backdrop of escalating tensions in the region since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7. The conflict has begun to spill over, involving militias allied with Iran in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, stated, “We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes.”
She affirmed the United States’ support for Iraq’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, clarifying that no US personnel or facilities were targeted.
Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards asserted the destruction of “one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq’s Kurdistan region with ballistic missiles.”
A statement said it was “in response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime”.
Iran has carried out attacks in Iraq’s Kurdistan region before, claiming the area is used by Iranian separatist groups and agents of Israel.
In a statement from his office, Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned the attack on Irbil as a “crime against the Kurdish people”.
A prominent businessman, Peshraw Dizayee, was among four civilians killed, the Kurdistan Democratic Party said.
The Revolutionary Guards also said they had targeted Islamic State (IS) group positions in Syria. Explosions were heard in Aleppo and its countryside, where “at least four missiles that came from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea” fell, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.
The force said it was in retaliation for this month’s suicide bombing on crowds marking the anniversary of Iranian spymaster Qasem Soleimani’s assassination by the US.
That attack in Kerman in southern Iran killed at least 84 people and wounded many more.
