DONALD Trump has issued a threat against Iran, saying he would “hold Iran responsible” for any deaths after US Embassy in Baghdad rocket attack.
Trump tweeted on Wednesday: “Our embassy in Baghdad got hit Sunday by several rockets. Three rockets failed to launch.”
“Guess where they were from: IRAN. Now we hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq,” the president wrote, alongside a photo of the three rockets.
“Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over.”
Officials said that on Sunday, the embassy in Baghdad was targeted by eight Katyusha rockets and that some buildings inside the fortified diplomatic Green Zone were damaged.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already blamed Tehran, and the US Central Command said the attack “was almost certainly conducted by an Iranian-backed rogue militia group.”
The command said the atack “caused no US injuries or casualties, the attack did damage buildings in the US embassy compound, and was clearly NOT intended to avoid casualties.”
“The United States will hold Iran accountable for the deaths of any Americans that result from the work of these Iranian-backed rogue militia groups,” it added.
“The people of Iraq deserve to have these attackers prosecuted. These violent and corrupt criminals must cease their destabilizing actions,” Pompeo tweeted on Sunday.
On Monday, Iran told the US not to provoke “tensions” between the two nations.
Earlier this month, the US withdrew some staff from its embassy in Baghdad, temporarily reducing personnel ahead of the first anniversary of the US airstrike that killed Iran’s top general – Qasem Soleimani.
Soleimani was killed in a targeted attack – ordered by Trump after Iranian-backed militias had fired rockets at US targets – outside Baghdad’s airport on January 3.
US officials said the reduction in embassy staff stemmed from concerns about a possible retaliatory strike from Iran.
The top general’s killing sparked outrage and led Iraq’s parliament to pass a non-binding resolution days later calling for the expulsion of all foreign troops from Iraq.
The frequency of rocket attacks in Iraq has frustrated the Trump administration, and Iran-backed militia groups have been blamed for orchestrating the attacks.
