The U.S. State Department issued a statement condemning the Iranian attack after Iran announced late Monday that it had launched attacks against “spy headquarters and a collection of anti-Iranian terrorist groups.”
“The United States today strongly condemns Iran's attack in Erbil and expresses our condolences to the families of the victims. We stand behind Iran's reckless actions that undermine stability in Iraq,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. “I oppose missile attacks.”
Miller added that the United States supports the efforts of the Kurdistan Regional Government to respond to the aspirations of the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people.
This all happened days after the State Department asserted that the Biden administration “will ensure that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons in any way.”
Iran announces attacks in northern Iraq and Syria
According to recent reports, the United States is nearing a deal with Iran that would free American citizens held by Iran and slow Iran's nuclear program. (Probst/ullstein bild via Getty Images, photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
“The question was not whether Iran would act on its stated intention to take a 'tough response' to the terrorist attacks it suffered earlier this year, but only when,” Benam of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said.・Senior Researcher Ben Talebro said: (FDD) told FOX News Digital. “Iran's growing ballistic missile capabilities mean that these weapons of war will be used more frequently for conflict adjudication purposes. This increases the risk of escalating mismanagement by any actors involved with Iran. ”
At least five ballistic missiles struck Erbil late Monday night. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that it had attacked the “spy headquarters” of an anti-Iranian organization in the Kurdistan region.
The airstrike killed at least four civilians and injured 17 others.
Biden administration backfills Iran de-escalation strategy as administration approaches production of atomic bomb
Taleblu added that Iran is only adding fuel to the regional fire by launching missiles into Iraq and Syria, while its proxy forces are firing on Israeli, US forces and international shipping. Ta.
“Iran's ballistic missile program is the largest in the Middle East, and Iran is working to improve the accuracy, range, survivability, and maneuverability of this force. This attack raises more questions than answers, especially why “Will Syria and Iraq, which are located to the west of Iran, develop ballistic missiles? They were targeted because the perpetrators of the terrorist attack were ISIS-K, which operates in eastern Iran.”
Taleburu said Iran did not report exactly which missiles it fired, but since 2017, solid-propellant short-range or short-range ballistic missiles with precision strike capabilities have been used in all missile operations. He said there was.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met with Hamas Politburo Chairman Ismail Haniyeh on November 5, 2023 in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Leadership Press Room/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Iran has conducted eight ballistic missile operations from its territory since 2017, five of which were conducted under the supervision of the Biden administration,” Tabebulu said.
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In total, Iran has launched at least 14 ballistic missile operations since the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, all of which were launched against targets in Iraq or Syria, Tabebulu said.
