Up to 12 missiles launched from Iran targeted the city of Erbil in northern Iraq shortly after midnight local time on Sunday, slamming into an area close to the U.S. consulate and a military base associated to the international coalition stationed in Iraq. The missiles used were reported to be of the Iran-made “Fateh 110” type.
The attack comes as nuclear talks have halted yet again in Vienna and Tehran sides with Moscow in Ukraine crisis. Furthermore, there are reports that the Biden administration have been considering the Iranian regime’s demand of delisting the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) from the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). It is worth noting that the regime’s missile program is under the control of the IRGC.
The missile attack on Erbil was launched from Iran, according to a U.S. official, tweeted Phil Steward, the Reuters military and intelligence correspondent. The IRGC issued a statement on Sunday officially assuiming responsibily for the attack, according to the regime’s official IRNA news agency.
The missile attack on Erbil was launched from Iran, according to a U.S. official.
— Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) March 13, 2022
A second U.S. official told the Associated Press that “there was no damage at any U.S. government facility and that there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and currently unoccupied.”
The U.S. condemned what it described as “outrageous attack against Iraqi sovereignty and display of violence.” The incident is currently under investigation by the Iraqi government and authorities of the Kurdish Regional Government.
The Sunday missile attacks comes several days after an Israeli airstrike near Damascus, Syria, that left two IRGC colonels, among others, dead.
Rep. Elaine Luria tweeted: “I’m continuing to monitor reports of an attack on our consulate in Erbil. If reports are accurate, the Biden Administration must withdraw its negotiations with Iran. We cannot re-enter a failed JCPOA to further empower Iran and threaten global security.”
I’m continuing to monitor reports of an attack on our consulate in Irbil.
If reports are accurate, the Biden Administration must withdraw its negotiations with Iran. We cannot re-enter a failed JCPOA to further empower Iran and threaten global security.
— Rep. Elaine Luria (@RepElaineLuria) March 13, 2022
Rep. Lisa McCalin tweeted: “Seeing reports of Iran-backed attacks on the US consulate in Iraq. This aggression shows we should absolutely end all Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations now. We must also never buy Iranian oil.”
Seeing reports of Iran-backed attacks on the US consulate in Iraq. This aggression shows we should absolutely end all Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations now. We must also never buy Iranian oil.
— Representative Lisa McClain (@RepLisaMcClain) March 13, 2022
The United Nations’ mission to Iraq strongly condemns the missile attacks on Erbil, urging Iraqis to stand together in face of acts that violate their country’s “sovereignty, territorial integrity, and/or aims to undermine stability/unity.”
The advisor to Iran’s nuclear negotiating team in Vienna Mohammad Marandi, who is also the son of the supreme leader’s personal physician, gloats after tonight’s attack on Erbil near the unoccupied new U.S. consulate that “this is just the beginning.”
The senior U.S. commander for the Middle East has repeatedly issued warnings about the increasing threats of attacks from Iranian regime and Iranian-back militias targeting American troops and allies in Iraq and Syria.
In an interview with The Associated Press in December, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie of CENTCOM said that while U.S. forces in Iraq have shifted to a non-combat role, the Iranian regime and its proxies continue to pursue their objective of forcing all American troops to leave the country. As a result, he said, that may trigger more attacks.
More recently, Iranian regime proxies are believed responsible for an assassination attempt late last year targeting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
Officials have also said they believe the Iranian regime was behind the October drone attack targeting the Al-Tanf military outpost in southern Syria where U.S. troops are based. No U.S. personnel were killed or injured in the attack.
