Iran says it fired missiles near US consulate in Iraq: Reports

Iran on Sunday claimed responsibility for the missiles which hit near the US consulate in Erbil, Iraq, the New York Post said, citing reports. Further, Iran said the attack was retaliation for an Israeli strike that had killed two members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Syria. 

As per the State Department, there have been no casualties, and the building, which is under construction and unoccupied, was not damaged either. 

The statement from the Revolutionary Guard stated that it targeted a “strategic centre of conspiracy” in Erbil, and also added “Any repetition of attacks by Israel will be met with a harsh, decisive and destructive response”, the Associated Press reported. 

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Initially, an Iraqi official had said that the missile strikes in Erbil had hit the US consulate, but later Kurdistan’s foreign media office clarified that rockets hadn’t hit the facility, they’d just landed near the compound. 

However, the State Department has been quick to condemn this, with a spokesperson calling it an “outrageous attack against Iraqi sovereignty and display of violence”.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also doubled down on it, backing the Baghdad government against Tehran’s attack, saying “We will support the Government of Iraq in holding Iran accountable, and we will support our partners throughout the Middle East in confronting similar threats from Iran”, Reuters reported. 

These views have been echoed by Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who said in a statement, “We condemn this terrorist attack launched against several sectors of Irbil, we call on the inhabitants to remain calm”. 

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It remains unclear whether Iran was targeting the consulate of the airport, where a base is located for the US-led coalition to fight the Islamic State terror group. Local television station Kurdistan24 seemed to face the brunt of the attack since their studios are close to the US consulate. Images posted on social media showed damaged offices, where the glass was broken and sections of the false ceiling had collapsed.