Following the death of one of their top generals, Iran retaliated against American forces by firing over two dozen rockets at Iraqi bases where U.S. troops were stationed.
Following the attacks, the Pentagon issued the following statement:
“At approximately 5:30 p.m. (EST) on January 7, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq. It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil. We are working on initial battle damage assessments.”
Thus far there have been no reported casualties.
President Trump briefly commented on the strikes Tuesday, but says that he will be addressing the nation on Wednesday morning.
“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.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif stated the missiles were an act of self-defense, claiming that “we do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.”
“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,” he said.
NBC News reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said in a statement he was warned by Iran shortly before midnight that the attack “had begun or would begin shortly.”
Mahdi said he was told “the strike would be limited to the locations of the U.S. military in Iraq” and he “alerted the Iraqi forces and military commanders to take necessary precautions.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also issued a statement following the attacks:
“The brave soldiers of IRGC’s aerospace unit have launched a successful attack with tens of ballistic missiles on Al Assad military base in the name of martyr Gen. Qasem Soleimani. … We warn all allied countries of the U.S. that if attacks are launched from bases in their countries on Iran, they will be a target of military retaliation.”
There are many ways this could play out. A war very well could take place, but there’s a chance these attacks led to no casualties on purpose.
Iran could have intentionally targeted bases with the goal of not ending lives, but rather giving off the appearance they fought off the Americans. Since no lives were reportedly lost, President Trump could use this as a chance to de-escalate the situation before things get worse.
Michael Singh, managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said as much during an interview with Axios. “If in fact there are no U.S. casualties, that offers the president more flexibility in responding.” He also added he’s “skeptical he [Trump] would choose not to respond at all given the seriousness of the Iranian attack.”
Now, we wait for the president to address the nation to see what happens next. Hopefully it isn’t another endless war in the desert.
Conservative Daily Update 