The president, Donald Trump, has sent his first official message to the nation after the Iranian attack yesterday against troops in Iraq: "The Americans must be extremely happy, no Americans were injured, all our soldiers are safe." "Our forces are ready for everything," he added, but "Iran seems to be lowering tension, which is good."
The president announced new "powerful" economic sanctions against Iran, said he would mobilize NATO in the Middle East, adding that he will do everything possible so that the country does not develop the atomic bomb: "We will never let it happen."
In the early hours of Wednesday (local time) the Iranian Revolutionary Guard confirmed that it had attacked two military installations in Iraq that house US soldiers.
More than twelve missiles were launched at the Al Asad military complexes, located west of Baghdad, and Irbil, near the Iranian border. The facilities include not only US military, but also coalition personnel from countries allied to Washington in the Middle East.
Iranian officials said the attack on the facilities is a first step in the "harsh revenge" promised after Washington killed last Friday the most important military strategist in Iran, General Qasem Soleimani.
The supreme leader of that country, Ayatollah Ali Jamenei, described the attack as "a slap" for the United States. On Tuesday night Trump met with his national security advisors, but offered no immediate indication of whether he would retaliate. "Everything is fine!" He said in a tweet. "We have, by far, the most powerful and best equipped army anywhere in the world!"
In a statement to state television after the attack, Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard said the coup left 80 US casualties, 200 injured as well as the destruction of large amounts of military equipment, including helicopters, according to the Mehr news agency, cited by The Washington Post.
USA He has not confirmed these claims, but said they are calculating the damages. The country has about 5,000 soldiers in Iraq.
Some analysts argue that Iran's response has been "moderate", which could mean that at least for the moment the country is not interested in increasing tension.
"We are not looking for an escalation or war, but we will defend ourselves against any aggression," said Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who said his country had taken "proportional measures in self-defense " against one of the bases since the which had launched the attack that killed General Soleimani.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Corps of the Guardians of the Iran Revolution sentenced: "To the Great Satan, the cruel and arrogant US regime, we warn that any other evil, rape or other measures will face a response more painful and overwhelming. "
The assassination of Soleimani by the US, which Trump described as necessary to avoid an "imminent" attack by Iran, put more strain on the already heated relations between the two countries. For its part, Iran's response constitutes its most direct direct coup against Washington since the US embassy was taken in Tehran in 1979, which unleashed the so-called hostage crisis.
Over the weekend, Trump warned that he had 52 Iranian targets "in the spotlight", should Tehran retaliate and fulfill his threat of revenge.
The Pentagon announced Tuesday that it will send 3,500 military to Iraq after the escalation of tensions in recent days, despite the fact that lawmakers from that country have voted to expel all foreign troops from their territory, including those from the United States.
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