This article was reprinted with permission after being published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
A U.S. spokesperson confirmed that” several” American officers were hurt in a rocket attack carried out by pro-Iran soldiers on an Iraqi military base late on August 5.
” There was a suspected jet attack now against U. S. and coalition troops at Al-Asad Airbase, Iraq”, the spokesperson said. ” First indications are that many U. S. workers were injured”.
Information of the attack, possible deaths, and injuries remain unclear.
Just weeks after an airstrike by the United States in Iraq claimed the existence of one of Iran’s so-called substitute groups, an Iraq-based army, that had launched the assault on the base in Anbar Province, where some of the country’s remaining U.S. soldiers were staying.
After a pause, Iran-backed organizations have resumed rocket attacks on American forces in recent days, allegedly attempting to punish Washington for its close relationship with Israel.
After the death of Ismail Haniyeh, the democratic president of the U.S. and the EU-designated Israeli terrorist group Hamas, Iran, or one of its substitute teams, is raised by the report.
Tehran has blamed Israel for the deadly attacks in Iran and Beirut, but Iran and its Syrian ally, which has also been labeled a terrorist organization, vowed to avenge the assault and other dangerous strikes.
Iran added that it does not need to escalate tensions that have been higher since the death of Haniyeh, but that punishing Israel will prevent further Middle East instability.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israel and its allies against attacking their nation and said Israel was now engaged in a “multifront warfare against Iran’s axis of evil.”
Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as saying,” We believe that Iran is entitled to punish the offender within the framework of foreign law.” Iran does take significant and effective measures to protect its security by exercising its fundamental right in accordance with international law.
” Iran believes that balance will be achieved with the abuse of the aggressor”, he added.
In a scandal that has become a major embarrassment for Tehran’s authorities, Israel has never accepted responsibility for Haniyeh’s murder in the Egyptian capital.
According to Russian state media, President Masud Pezeshkian, who was sworn in less than a week before, was among the top Iranian officials who were visiting Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu for a work-related visit to Tehran on August 5.
According to Egyptian state advertising, Pezeshkian , told Shoigu , that Tehran was determined to develop relationships with its” tactical spouse” and expressed gratitude for Moscow’s help.
According to reports, Pezeshkian reported that Russia is one of the nations that has supported the Egyptian government during tough times.
The IRGC claimed on August 3 that Israel was responsible for the shooting and that the US was behind the attack. A rocket carrying a 7-kilogram weapon was used to attack Haniyeh’s house, according to a statement from the IRGC.
The New York Times reported that Haniyeh’s death was the result of a bomb being secretly smuggled into the hotel in Tehran two months prior, citing unidentified options.
Kanaani said the international community, and the United States in certain, had failed to help maintain balance in the region.
A moment earlier, U. S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged Washington’s “iron-clad help” for Israel if Tehran were to launch an attack.
On August 5, State Department official Matthew Miller , said , that Washington has sent emails through diplomatic channels urging countries to show Tehran that increase in the region “is certainly in anyone’s attention”.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Muhammad al Abdulrahman Al Thani on August 5 during a presentation, but he did not specify whether any communications had been sent to Iran.
Washington and Tehran do not have diplomatic ties, and third-party countries frequently send emails.
As calls for de-escalation continue from around the globe, Tehran has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries ( OIC ) over Haniyeh’s assassination. The party, which consists of 57 says including all of Israel’s companions, agreed to meet on August 7.
Since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7 that left 1,200 people dead and 240 prisoner as Hamas soldiers retreated into the Gaza Strip, there have been great tense relations in the region.
In reply, Israel launched a withering warfare against Hamas that, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry, has left nearly 40, 000 people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.
In response to a mutiny by Israel at the Egyptian Embassy element in Damascus on April 1 that resulted in the deaths of seven Iranian leaders, including two generals, Iran launched an attack on Israel on April 13 with more than 300 drones and weapons, which only resulted in minimal damage and deaths.
