US condemns Iran for 'reckless' missile strikes on northern Iraq
The officials in the Kurdish territory of Iraq reported that there were four fatalities due to the air attacks that occurred overnight.
Authored by George Wright and David Gritten
On Monday night, Iran carried out ballistic missile attacks on Iraq's northern city of Irbil, which the US has strongly criticized and labeled as "indiscriminate and dangerous".
The Revolutionary Guards of Iran declared that they attacked what they believed to be an Israeli center for espionage located in Kurdistan, an area of Iraq with some degree of self-rule.
According to local officials, the attack resulted in the death of four innocent people and injuries to six others.
The nation of Iraq has withdrawn its ambassador from Tehran and criticized the missile attacks, arguing that they represent a clear breach of territorial integrity.
Israel has not provided any response or statement regarding the matter.
According to reports, the Revolutionary Guards have claimed responsibility for launching missile attacks on the bases of the Islamic State (IS) group located in Syria. The attacks were apparently in retaliation to a recent suicide bombing incident that occurred in Iran.
On Tuesday morning, there was another incident where Kurdish soldiers fighting against terrorism reported that they had taken down three flying machines armed with weapons near Irbil's airport. The airport is home to various international and US troops stationed there. This information was reported by Reuters news agency.
No one has taken responsibility for the incident right away, however, a coalition of armed groups supported by Iran including the Islamic Resistance in Iraq stated that they were responsible for carrying out comparable assaults.
The recent attacks by Iran happened during a time when tensions in the Middle East have been elevated due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian group supported by Iran, that started on October 7th in the Gaza Strip.
Iran announced that it has no intentions of engaging in a larger conflict, however, factions within its group known as the "Axis of Resistance" have been conducting strikes against Israel and those affiliated with them, as a means of standing in unison with the Palestinian community.
The Hezbollah group in Lebanon has engaged in a confrontation with Israeli forces across the border. Shia militias have used drones and missiles to attack the US forces stationed in Iraq and Syria. The Houthi rebels in Yemen have also targeted ships travelling across the Red Sea by initiating an attack on them.
According to reports, Israel has conducted attacks that caused the demise of a Hamas leader located in Lebanon, as well as a commander from the Revolutionary Guards in Syria. Meanwhile, the United States has taken out a leader from an Iraqi militia in an air strike within Iraq, and has targeted locations belonging to the Houthi group in Yemen through bombing.
The leadership of Iraq criticized Iran's act of intrusion into Irbil and labeled it as an attack.
According to the Kurdistan Region Security Council, there were several instances of ballistic missiles launched by the Revolutionary Guards. These missiles hit areas of Irbil where civilians are known to live. This occurred at approximately 11:30pm local time (8:30pm GMT) on Monday.
The city experienced loud explosions, according to a report from local news outlet Rudaw. The explosions caused significant damage to a number of residential buildings located along the road connecting Irbil and the north-eastern suburb of Pirmam.
According to the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Peshraw Dizayee, a very wealthy real estate tycoon, passed away after his home was struck by a missile.
Rudaw reported that there was a casualty who was only 11 months old.
The Revolutionary Guards released a statement declaring that they executed missile attacks as a retaliation against the recent actions carried out by the Zionist regime, which resulted in the killing of several Revolutionary Guards and resistance commanders.
The rockets allegedly "obliterated a key base belonging to Israel's intelligence service Mossad located in the Kurdistan area of Iraq." The location was reportedly utilized for "crafting spy missions and orchestrating violent attacks."
The Security Council of Kurdistan Region stated that they firmly refuse the concept of "this untrue reason" and declared that the Revolutionary Guards often use "groundless explanations to attack Irbil" even when there is no danger.
Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region, expressed his condemnation for the cowardly attack and called upon the Baghdad federal government to adopt a strong stance against this clear breach of Iraq and Kurdistan Region's sovereignty.
The Iraqi officials from the foreign ministry expressed their disapproval of the Iranian attack on Irbil and declared that they will take legal action by filing a complaint to the UN Security Council. In addition, they set up a team to investigate Iran's accusations and to verify if they are indeed false.
Afterwards, the department called back the Iraqi representative from Tehran to discuss and requested the Iranian temporary representative in Baghdad to object.
"We will keep monitoring the situation, however, our first observations show that these strikes were careless and inaccurate," said Adrienne Watson, the representative for the White House's National Security Council, in a written release.
She mentioned that the United States is in favor of Iraq's autonomy, liberty, and geographical unity. Furthermore, she noted that there were no US staff or buildings that were attacked.
The communication from the UN presence in Iraq stated that all forms of assaults that encroach on Iraqi sovereignty and territorial unity must come to a halt, no matter who initiates them. They emphasized that, instead of utilizing forceful measures, disputes pertaining to security should be aptly handled through talks.
The foreign ministry of Iran declared that it honored the freedom and boundaries of other nations, but was exercising its rightful and legal authority to prevent national security risks.
During 2022, the Revolutionary Guards executed a missile assault on what they believed was an important Israeli target in Irbil. They did so in response to an airstrike that happened in Syria, taking the lives of two high-ranking Iranian officials. On another instance that same year, the group claimed to have attacked the sites of opposition groups of Iranian Kurdish origin, in the same area.
On Monday night, the Revolutionary Guards stated that they had attacked the locations of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria as well. This indicates their commitment towards taking action against extremist groups.
According to a UK-based organization that monitors events in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the locations where the missiles fell are uncertain. The impact of the missiles resulted in four explosions towards the south-eastern region of Aleppo that is controlled by groups backed by Iran. Meanwhile, one explosion was heard close to the city of Idlib which is currently under the control of opposition forces.
According to the White Helmets, an organization of first responders, a medical facility in Taltita village, located in the Idlib province, was destroyed due to unexplained explosions. The non-operational clinic was reported to have incurred damage, and two individuals sustained minor injuries as a result.
The assault that took place in the southern region of Iran, Kerman, resulted in the unfortunate deaths of no less than 94 individuals.
