On Tuesday, January 7th, Iran launched missiles at US military and coalition forces in Iraq in response to the killing of its top general, Soleimani, a confirmation by the Pentagon. According to the Pentagon, a total of more than a dozen missiles were fired, targeting at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil. Jonathan Hoffman, assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, stated, “It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran. We are working on initial battle damage assessments.”
The Pentagon also mentioned that the bases had been on high alert due to indications of a planned attack by the Iranian regime. President Trump tweeted a reassurance, stating, ‘All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.’
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned through its official Telegram channel that if Iranian soil is bombed, they would target the cities of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Haifa, Israel, in the third wave of operations. Iran’s minister of telecommunications, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, also expressed the country’s stance on Twitter, stating, “Get the hell out of our region!”