Iran Has Launched Missile Attack on Iraqi Air Base Housing US Troops, Iran State TV Says

Iran launched missiles at an Iraqi air base housing U.S. forces on Wednesday, according to an Iraqi State media outlet.

“Tens” of surface-to-surface missiles struck Ain al Assad air base in Western Iraq, the Associated Press and Reuters reported.

There have been no reports of any casualties, according to Reuters.

MORE: Iran Says It’s Planning 13 ‘Revenge Scenarios’ in Retaliation for US Killing of Soleimani

New York Times reporter Farnaz Fassihi uploaded footage to Twitter purporting to show footage of the attack.

BREAKING: Footage of Iran attack on US base Al Assad in Iraq.#AlAssad #Iraq pic.twitter.com/8CtLpgnsw6

— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 7, 2020

Hassan Khalifhe, a reporter for Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar, posted Iranian TV footage purporting to show missiles targeting Ain al Assad.

Iranian TV showing a
Video of missile launching targeting Ain Al Assad Air Base in Erbil.#Iraq #Iran #Qassem_Suleimani
https://t.co/XMegQClbrI

— فيصل ابراهيم الشمري (@Mr_Alshammeri) January 7, 2020

The attack comes amid increasing friction between Iran and the U.S., following an air strike that killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week.

Iran was considering 13 “revenge scenarios” in response to the strike, the head of Iran’s security council said Tuesday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

“The Americans should know that until now 13 revenge scenarios have been discussed in the council and even if there is consensus on the weakest scenario carrying it out can be a historic nightmare for the Americans,” Ali Shamkhani reportedly said.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, personally told the Supreme National Security Council that Iran must respond with its own forces, The New York Times reported Monday, citing three Iranians familiar with the meeting.

Khamenei and top military commanders have said Iran’s retaliation would match the scale of Soleimani’s killing but that it would come at a time and place of Tehran’s choosing.

Trump warns Iran

Soleimani, 62, was killed by a U.S. airstrike at the Baghdad airport Thursday along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a powerful Iraqi militia commander, and others. President Donald Trump ordered the operation following an attack on the U.S. embassy embassy in Baghdad led by an Iranian-backed militia.

The Pentagon said Soleimani approved the storming of the embassy and was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and the wounding of thousands more in Iraq. He spent decades building a network of militant groups across the Middle East. Last spring, the State Department designated the Revolutionary Guards a foreign terrorist organization.

Soleimani’s death has elevated U.S.-Iran tensions, with both states threatening attacks and counterattacks, often with numerical specificity.

Trump on Saturday threatened in a series of tweets to hit 52 Iranian sites “very hard” if Tehran attacks Americans or U.S. assets in response to the strike that killed Soleimani.

MORE: Video Shows Soleimani’s Body Flying Coach Back to Iran — And the Response From Twitter Is Ruthless

Late Friday, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Gen. Gholamali Abuhamzeh was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying Iran had identified “35 U.S. targets in the region as well as Tel Aviv” for possible retaliatory attacks.

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