President Donald Trump said he will be making a statement early Wednesday after Iranian missiles hit Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. troops, adding “all is well”.
“All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far!
“I will be making a statement tomorrow morning,” Trump said on Twitter late Tuesday.
His tweet came hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq.
The missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. military and coalition personnel at Al-Asad and Erbil, said Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman in a statement.
Later, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Tehran “concluded proportionate measures” in response to the U.S. killing of the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, last week, adding Tehran is not looking for a war with the U.S.
“Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched,” said Zarif on Twitter. “We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.”
Following the attacks, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, said it would ban American carriers from flying in airspace over Iraq, Iran, the Gulf of Oman and the waters between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Separately, Trump spoke with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and thanked him for Qatar’s strong partnership with the U.S.
“The President and the Emir discussed the situation in Iraq and Iran, as well as critical bilateral and regional issues,” said White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere in a statement.
Soleimani was killed by a U.S. airstrike early Friday morning near Baghdad International Airport.
The operation capped a series of tit-for-tat recriminations between the U.S. and Iran-backed forces that began with the killing of an American contractor at a U.S. base in Iraq late last month.
The U.S. retaliated with airstrikes on the Iran-backed militia it says is responsible for conducting the attack, killing dozens. The U.S. embassy in Baghdad was then attacked last Tuesday by a group of enraged militiamen and demonstrators.
