SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iran’s foreign minister on Thursday dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s allegations that Tehran was behind the recent rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
“Putting your own citizens at risk abroad won’t divert attention from catastrophic failures at home,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.
Trump said on Wednesday the rockets that landed in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday, targeting the U.S. Embassy, were from Iran.
“we hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq,” Trump said in a tweet.
“Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over,” he added.
In another tweet, Zarif said: “Last time, the U.S. ruined our region over WMD [weapons of mass destruction] fabrications, wasting $7 TRILLION & causing 58,976 American casualties” – a reference to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
“Trump will bear full responsibility for any adventurism on his way out,” Zarif tweeted.
The Iraqi military blamed the rocket strike, which caused minor damage, on an “outlaw group”.
Top U.S. national security officials agreed on Wednesday on a proposed range of options to present to Trump meant to deter any attack on U.S. military or diplomatic personnel in Iraq, a senior administration official told Reuters, without describing the content of the options or say whether they included military action.
A “range of options” would be presented soon to Trump, said the official, who would not describe the content of the options or say whether they included military action.
“Each one is designed to be non-escalatory and to deter further attack,” the official said.
U.S. Central Command said that Sunday’s attack was “almost certainly” conducted by an “Iranian-backed Rogue Militia Group.”
In recent days there has been increased concern and vigilance about what Iranian-backed forces might do in the lead up to the anniversary of a Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike in Iraq that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, the official said.
Washington blames Iran-backed militia for regular rocket attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq, including near the embassy. No known Iran-backed groups have claimed responsibility.
(Esta Media Network/Reuters)
