Tehran: Iran struck back 10 of surface-to-surface missiles at the United States for the killing of a top Iranian general early on Wednesday, firing a series of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops and warning the United States and its allies in the region not to retaliate.
The strikes by Iran were a major escalation of tensions that have been rising steadily across the Mideast following months of threats and attacks after President Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally withdraw America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. Iranian media said the attack was in revenge for the US killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, whose funeral procession Tuesday in his hometown of Kerman prompted angry calls to avenge his death.
Soleimani's killing and Iran's missile strikes also marked the first time in recent years that Washington and Tehran have attacked each other directly rather than through proxies in the region. It raised the chances of open conflict erupting between the two nations, which have been foes since the days immediately following Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
US officials confirmed both strikes, though Iran only initially acknowledged targeting one base. There was no immediate word on injuries.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned the US and its regional allies against retaliating over the missile attack against the Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq’s western Anbar province. The Guard issued the warning via a statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
“We are warning all American allies, who gave their bases to its terrorist army, that any territory that is the starting point of aggressive acts against Iran will be targeted,” The Guard said. It also threatened Israel.
After the strikes, a former Iranian nuclear negotiator posted a picture of the Islamic Republic's flag on Twitter, appearing to mimic Trump who posted an American flag following the killing of Soleimani and others Friday in a drone strike in Baghdad.
Ain al-Asad airbase was first used by American forces after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, and later saw American troops stationed there amid the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. It houses about 1,500 US and coalition forces.
About 70 Norwegian troops also were on the airbase but no injuries were reported, Brynjar Stordal, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces told the media
Read more: Iranian MPs chant 'Death to America' in parliament
According to the media reports, the operation’s name was “Martyr Soleimani.” It said the Guard’s aerospace division that controls Iran’s missile program launched the attack. Iran said it would release more information later.
![Iraq government](https://etvbharatimages.akamaized.net/etvbharat/prod-images/5632584_dfgbg.jpg)
The US also acknowledged another missile attack on a base in Irbil in Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region.
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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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2020All 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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2020
Wednesday's revenge attack came a mere few hours after crowds in Iran mourned Soleimani and as the US continued to reinforce its own positions in the region and warned of an unspecified threat to shipping from Iran in the region's waterways, crucial routes for global energy supplies. US embassies and consulates from Asia to Africa and Europe issued security alerts for Americans. The US Air Force launched a drill with 52 fighter jets in Utah, just days after Trump threatened to hit 52 sites in Iran.
A stampede broke out Tuesday at Soleimani's funeral for a top Iranian general slain in a US airstrike, and at least 56 people were killed and more than 200 were injured as thousands thronged the procession, media reports said.
Tuesday's deadly stampede took place in Soleimani's hometown of Kerman as his coffin was being borne through the city in southeastern Iran, said Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s emergency medical services.
There was no information about what set off the crush in the packed streets, and online videos showed only its aftermath: people lying apparently lifeless, their faces covered by clothing, emergency crews performing CPR on the fallen, and onlookers wailing and crying out to God.
“Unfortunately as a result of the stampede, some of our compatriots have been injured and some have been killed during the funeral processions," Koulivand said, and media quoted him as saying that 56 had died and 213 had been injured.
Soleimani's burial was delayed, with no new time given, because of concerns about the huge crowd at the cemetery, the media report said.
![Iraq government](https://etvbharatimages.akamaized.net/etvbharat/prod-images/5632584_procession.jpg)
A procession in Tehran on Monday drew over 1 million people in the Iranian capital, crowding both main avenues and side streets in Tehran. Such mass crowds can prove dangerous. A smaller stampede at the 1989 funeral for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini killed at least eight people and injured hundreds.
Hossein Salami, Soleimani's successor as leader of the Revolutionary Guard, addressed a crowd of supporters gathered at the coffin in a central square in Kernan. He vowed to avenge Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike Friday near Baghdad's airport.