On the night of Wednesday, January 8, Iran conducted a military operation called the “Martyr Suleymani” against military facilities of the United States of America in Iraq, which was a response to an American strike on the night of January 3 in the vicinity of the airport in Baghdad, in which Kassem Suleimani, General of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed.
"The brave fighters of the armed forces of the IRGC during a successful operation called the Martyr Suleymani fired dozens of ground-to-ground missiles and destroyed the air force base of the US terrorist occupation forces, known as al-Assad," the statement said .
80 American soldiers became victims of rocket attacks, 104 infrastructure facilities at military bases were also destroyed, Iranian media cite data from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. At the same time, American television channels, citing various sources, claim the absence of any victims.
At least two military bases in Iraq were attacked, where the personnel of the US Armed Forces and the international coalition are located: in al-Assad and Erbil. According to the Iraqi army, a total of 22 missiles were sent to targets, 15 of them hit the air base in Anbar province, two more missiles did not detonate. At the same time, the rest hit the base in Iraqi Kurdistan.
“No losses were recorded among the Iraqi armed forces,” the Iraqi Armed Forces said in a statement.
According to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Tehran has implemented “proportionate measures of self-defense in accordance with Art. 51 of the UN Charter (the right to individual or collective self-defense. - RT ) ”, since it attacked the objects from which attacks were carried out on Iranian citizens.
“We do not seek escalation or war, but we will protect ourselves from any aggression,” he wrote on Twitter.
It is worth noting that the United States, Great Britain and France acted in a similar way when on April 14, 2018 they launched rocket attacks on Syrian government facilities, which were allegedly used for the production of chemical weapons. Previously, Washington accused Damascus of the use of toxic substances in the Duma. Russia denied these reports, emphasizing their “fabricated nature,” and SAR President Bashar Assad, in an interview with RT, pointed out that this story was invented as a pretext for an attack. In addition, in November 2019, the WikiLeaks portal published a letter from one of the OPCW employees to its superiors stating that serious dodging of the facts was made in the process of preparing a report on the alleged chemical attack on April 7, 2018.
In addition, a message appeared on the Twitter account of the killed Kassem Suleimani after Iran’s attacks on US military bases in Iraq with the hashtag "Severe retaliation" and a picture that says "I will confront you."
# SevereRevengepic.twitter.com / jFYkAAArgX
- Ghasem Soleimany Ideology (@ghasemsoleimane) January 8, 2020Later, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said during an appeal that Iran "slapped the US" this night. He emphasized that all the peoples of the Middle East reject the presence of the United States in the region.
“The military response in this case is not enough. It is important that the American presence - the root of the problems in the region - come to an end, ”he stressed.
In turn, Iranian Defense Minister Amir Khatami expressed hope that what happened "will be a memorable lesson for the United States." According to him, the US administration under the presidency of Donald Trump has become "a terrorist government."
“The Iranian response will be proportional to what America will do,” he added.
On the eve of the Iranian parliament passed a bill to include the Pentagon in the list of terrorist organizations. According to the document, “all Pentagon members and related institutions, organizations and commanders, as well as those who ordered the assassination of Lieutenant General ... Kassem Suleimani, are considered terrorists.
Note that the head of the White House after the Iranian attack on US military facilities in Iraq said that "everything is in order", and a more detailed statement will be made on January 8.
“Iran launched missiles at two military bases in Iraq, an assessment is underway to see if there are any injuries and damage. Everything is fine! We have the strongest and best equipped armed forces in the world! ”Trump wrote on Twitter.
At the same time, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called the Iranian attacks “an act of aggression” and threatened to deprive Tehran of the “oil business” while continuing attacks.
At the same time, Democratic Senator Ben Cardin announced the need to prevent further escalation.
“The situation is extremely serious, but in a situation where there is no information about the dead, President Trump has more opportunities to de-escalate tensions between the United States and Iran,” he said. “The war with Iran is not in our national interests, and we must find diplomatic opportunities in order to prevent it.”
“NATO awaits Washington’s reaction”
After the missile attacks of Iran, the world community called on Tehran and Washington to exercise restraint and diplomatic resolution of the conflict.
According to the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Geng Shuang, Iran and the United States should resolve the differences "on the basis of the principle of mutual respect" and through dialogue.
In turn, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, pointed out the need to stop the use of weapons by the parties.
- On the night of January 8, Iran conducted rocket attacks on US military facilities in Iraq
- © IRIB / AFP; Ari Jalal / Reuters
At the same time, the Foreign Ministers of Germany and Great Britain, Heiko Maas and Dominic Raab, condemned the actions of Tehran. Along with this, TASS, citing a diplomatic source, reports that NATO countries are waiting for Washington’s reaction, after which they will make their own statements.
“The United States makes independent decisions on Iran without consulting with NATO, as was the case with all the latest airstrikes. Under these conditions, the alliance is waiting for Washington’s reaction, ”another diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
“Better to stop”
Donald Trump made a big enough both strategic and political mistake by deciding to eliminate the Iranian IRGC General Kassem Suleymani, said Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense Yuri Shvytkin. According to him, the actions of the American side can lead to a serious armed conflict, which will result in a local and then a large-scale one.
“I hope that this does not happen, but such risks exist. Iran today is not inclined to war with the United States, however, from their statements it follows that they are ready to take measures for self-defense. The road to a peaceful settlement exists, it has not yet been completely closed. I personally pin my hope on the UN, which should say its weighty word. I think that at present we need to sit down at the negotiating table, because the escalation of tension is high, and will not lead to anything good, ”the source said.
According to Alexander Sherin, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma’s defense committee, conversations on social networks about the alleged start of a large-scale military conflict are groundless.
“There is no third world war, no one will inflict any nuclear strikes. Isolated states can confront the American military machine, and the USA does nothing against these states: Russia, China, India, ”the parliamentarian said in an interview with RT.
In turn, the chairman of the Federation Council Commission on Information Policy, Alexei Pushkov, believes that "a big war is practically inevitable" if the United States takes a response. The senator also believes that Donald Trump is torn between the desire to "save the face and reputation of the United States as a superpower" and the reluctance to start a new war in the election year.
“She will not be popular in the US and will most likely cost Trump election victory. It’s better to stop, ”Pushkov wrote on Twitter.