The United States has condemned Iran for launching missile attacks near the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, calling the strikes “reckless and imprecise.” The attack, which Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed targeted Israeli “spy headquarters” in northern Iraq, resulted in the deaths of four people and left six others wounded, according to Iraq’s Kurdistan security council. Iraq has denounced the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty.
Tensions in the region have been escalating since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7. The conflict has expanded to involve militias allied with Iran in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
Adrienne Watson, a 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 emphasized the United States’ support for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq, adding that no US personnel or facilities were targeted.
The Revolutionary Guards claimed they destroyed “one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq’s Kurdistan region” in response to the “recent atrocities of the Zionist regime.” Iranian attacks in Iraq’s Kurdistan region are not new, with Iran 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.” The Revolutionary Guards also reported targeting Islamic State (IS) group positions in Syria. Explosions were heard in Aleppo and its countryside, with missiles falling from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
The recent missile attacks come amid a long history of tensions between Iran and the United States, rooted in geopolitical and ideological conflicts in the Middle East. The US has been involved in the region’s affairs for decades, influencing the political landscape, particularly in war-torn countries such as Iraq and Syria. These missile attacks further underscore the complex and volatile nature of the regional dynamics and the ongoing struggle for power and influence.
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