Trump calls on Iraqis to get rid of "Iranian hegemony" and Washington sends reinforcements to its embassy in Baghdad

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Iraqis to get rid of what he described as Iran's hegemony over their country, and accused Tehran of plotting to storm the US embassy in Baghdad, while Washington decided to send reinforcements to protect the embassy and its employees.

Hours after protesters stormed the gates of the American embassy in the Green Zone to denounce the American bombing of the sites of the Iraqi Hizballah brigades of the Popular Mobilization, Trump wrote in a tweet on Twitter that he "tells millions of Iraqis who want freedom and do not want Iran to dominate them, that their time has come."

He was apparently referring to his support for the protests that have been taking place in Iraq for months, targeting in part Iran's influence there.

In a previous tweet, Trump accused Iran of being behind the storming of the US embassy in Baghdad, and pledged to hold it accountable, and indicated that his country had informed Baghdad of its responsibility to protect the US embassy, ​​expecting to use its forces for that.

He also accused Iran of killing an American contractor and injuring others in the bombing that targeted a military base days ago in Kirkuk (north of Baghdad) that includes American forces.

The US President said that his country has responded strongly to the attack, and it will always do so, indicating that it will respond militarily to any other similar attack.

In response to the bombing of the military base in Kirkuk, American planes carried out raids Sunday evening on three locations of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq and two locations in Syria, killing 28 militants of this faction, which is one of the largest factions of the popular crowd.

Embassy protection
For his part, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed Tuesday that the Pentagon will send additional forces to Baghdad to protect the American embassy.

A source in the Pentagon suggested that the additional forces include a few Marines.

The Pentagon announcement of sending additional forces comes at a time when the State Department confirmed that all Americans at the United States Embassy in Baghdad are safe, and that the facility has not been stormed.

The ministry also confirmed that the American ambassador to Iraq, Matt Toler, was on a private travel trip and was not evacuated during the storming incident, and she said that there is no intention to evacuate the embassy from its employees.

And US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed, during two phone calls to Iraqi President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, that the United States would protect its citizens in Iraq, accusing Iranian-backed groups of threatening the embassy.

A statement by the US State Department indicated that Pompeo had received assurances from Iraqi officials that the Iraqi government would seriously take responsibility for providing security for US citizens and property in Iraq.

In the context of American reactions to the storming incident, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said that America's diplomacy, security forces and embassy in Baghdad deserve protection from the Iraqi government, and called for an end to escalation and violence, while a number of members of Congress accused Iran of being behind the attack on the embassy, ​​and called To hold it responsible for what happened.

For its part, the American embassy in Baghdad warned American citizens against approaching the embassy building in Baghdad because of the continued protest near it.

On the other hand, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense said that the Iraqi government is keen to protect its foreign diplomatic missions.