Iran
© Nazanin Tabatabaee / WANA via REUTERSFILE PHOTO: A woman walks in front of new murals of the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran November 2, 2019
President Donald Trump accused Iran of being behind an attack on the US embassy in Baghdad, amid rumors he's considering closing it, threatening Tehran ahead of the one-year anniversary of their most serious confrontation to date.

Tweeting out a photo of what he said were three rockets that failed to launch during Sunday's attack on the embassy, Trump said they came from Iran and that there was "chatter" about additional attacks against Americans in Iraq.

"Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over," he added.


Trump's warning echoes the exact language used a year ago, when Washington blamed a Shia militia in Iraq - described as a proxy of Tehran - for killing a US contractor during a rocket attack. Airstrikes against the militia triggered a siege of the US embassy in Baghdad, but the real escalation came on January 3, when a US drone strike assassinated several militia leaders along with General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The day after Soleimani's funeral, Iran responded with dozens of missiles targeting Iraqi bases that hosted US military personnel. However, Tehran reportedly gave two hours' notice to the government in Baghdad, as well as warned the US military commanders prior to the strike, giving everyone time to reach hardened shelters.

While the US later said the attack was "intended to kill," the missile salvos caused no casualties. Eventually, the Pentagon said that 110 US service members suffered "traumatic brain injuries" from the shelling, meaning concussions ranging from mild to medium. In May 2020, 29 of them received medals for being wounded in combat.

Washington has been saber-rattling at Tehran for a month now, first sending nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the region in November then announcing this week that an atomic-powered submarine carrying either cruise missiles or special forces operatives had sailed into the Persian Gulf.


Comment: US flew two bombers from Louisiana over the Persian Gulf, is joined by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar


Eight rockets were fired at the 'Green Zone' complex in Baghdad, where the heavily fortified US embassy is located, on Sunday. One Iraqi civilian was killed. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed "Iran-backed militias" for the attack.

The current Quds Force commander, General Ismail Qaani, visited Baghdad on Tuesday and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. According to the Axios correspondent in Israel, Qaani denied that Iran or Shia militias had "any role" in the latest attacks on the US embassy.

Both Axios and Reuters reported that the "principals committee" including Pompeo, acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller and National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien met at the White House to present Trump with options in response to the attack. One of the possibilities is to close down the embassy, Axios reported citing anonymous sources "familiar with the discussions."

Reuters cited an anonymous official saying only that all options were "designed to be non-escalatory and to deter further attack."

Earlier this month, US mainstream media reported there would be a "slight" and "temporary" withdrawal of staff from the embassy as part of a "de-risking" operation ahead of the Soleimani anniversary. This was also based on anonymous sources, as the State Department declined to confirm or deny the rumor. Foggy Bottom only said that Ambassador Matthew Tueller remains in Iraq and the embassy would continue to operate.

Iran's president compares Trump to hanged Saddam, predicts US president may meet same fate

Rouhani
© ReutersIranian President Hassan Rouhani is shown speaking at a press conference last week in Tehran.
"The day that madman was hanged was the day people celebrated their final victory," Rouhani said Wednesday at a Cabinet meeting in Tehran. "Trump's fate won't be much better than Saddam's."

The inflammatory remarks may ratchet up tensions with Washington at a time when media outlets such as Forbes and NBC News have suggested that Trump may order an attack on Iran during his final days in office, leaving President-elect Joe Biden to deal with the aftermath.

"One madman in our region was Saddam, who imposed a war on our nation, and the other madman was Trump, who imposed another war on our people," Rouhani said. "One imposed a military war on us, while the other imposed an economic war."


Comment: He's right about the sanctions but, by comparison to his predecessors, like Bush and Obama, Trump hasn't started any new wars in the region and has seemingly worked in earnest to deescalate the troubles.


The deposed Iraqi president, Hussein, started a devastating eight-year war with Iran in 1980. He was hanged in Baghdad in 2006, after being captured by US forces.

Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement in 2018 and imposed crippling economic sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation. He ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed earlier this year in a drone stroke in Baghdad.

Biden has indicated that he would like to restore the Iran nuclear deal, which was signed in 2015, when he was vice president under Barack Obama.