US President Donald Trump has accused Iran of controlling the riots at the American embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. He urged the Iraqi government to protect the embassy with their "troops".
On Twitter, Trump made serious allegations against Tehran: "Iran killed an American contractor, many were wounded. We have replied hard and will always do so. Now Iran is steering an attack on the US embassy in Iraq," he wrote and continued: "You will be fully responsible for this."
In another tweet, he addressed the Iraqi people and, in turn, made people against the Iranian influence on the country. "The millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and don't want to be ruled by Iran, this is your time," he wrote.
Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the US Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019The Iraqi government has been told that it needs to deploy its "troops" to protect the US embassy, Trump wrote. US Ambassador Matthew Tueller is currently on vacation outside of Iraq, according to diplomatic officials. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi called on the demonstrators to leave the embassy site "immediately".
As the Reuters news agency reports, the US is planning to temporarily station additional soldiers at the US embassy in Baghdad to prepare for the violent protests.
Months of conflict rockets up
The background to the escalation are the US air strikes on the pro-Iranian Hezbollah brigades, in which 25 fighters and commanders were killed on Sunday. Since then, the months-long conflict between the United States and Iran has rocketed Iraq.
The US attacks immediately triggered sharp reactions in Baghdad, Tehran and Moscow. The Iraqi government warned that it was forced to "review its relationship" with the United States.
The pro-Iranian demonstrators initially took part in a funeral procession for those killed in the US air raids on Tuesday. They then managed to get through all checkpoints to the tightly secured US Embassy. They shouted "Death America", demanded the withdrawal of US troops in Iraq, threw stones, burned US flags and tore surveillance cameras from the walls. As the demonstrators continued to advance violently, Iraqi security forces surrounded the building.
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After airstrikes: Protesters storm US embassy in BaghdadThen thousands of partly uniformed militants and supporters of the Hashed-al-Shaabi militia broke through the outside wall of the embassy area, journalists from the AFP news agency reported. US security forces on the site first fired shots, then tear gas and stun grenades. According to the militia, at least 20 people were injured.
Extremely unstable situation in Iraq
The situation in Iraq, where 5,200 US soldiers are stationed, is extremely unstable. Since the beginning of October, the country has been hit by an unprecedented wave of protests in the face of a severe social crisis. The demonstrators accuse the elites of corruption and inaction.
Prime Minister Abdel Mahdi resigned under pressure from the demonstrators, but he continues to run the government. Iran has great influence in Iraq and is trying to control the formation of a new government.
Relations between the U.S. and Iran have deteriorated massively since Trump's exit from the Tehran nuclear deal in 2018. The United States has also tightened its sanctions against Iran significantly. Since then there have been several dangerous escalations between the two sides.