” Twelve ballistic missiles targeted Erbil and the American consulate in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. This was assured by the Kurdish security forces in a press release, assuring that these missiles were fired ” outside the borders of Iraq, more precisely from the east “.
Iranian officials have not yet made any statements. But according to several specialized websites, twelve tactical missiles Fateh 110 were fired from northwestern Iran, says our correspondent in Iran, Siavosh Ghazi. These missiles targeted two secret spy centers belonging to the Israeli Mossad. One of these centers was not far from the American consulate. A State Department spokesperson assured that there was “ no damage or casualties at any U.S. government facility “.
Reprisals
Still according to these sites but also state television, it is an action of reprisals after the death of two colonels of the Revolutionary Guards, killed on Monday near Damascus in an Israeli strike. The head of the Revolutionary Guards, who attended the funerals of these two colonels, said that Iran was going to take revenge. Apparently, these two colonels were specialized in the manufacture of high precision missiles.
In any case, Iran seems to want to respond to Israeli attacks against its sites in Syria, which could cause a spiral between the two countries. Israel has repeatedly struck Iranian targets in Syria or attacked Iranian nuclear sites or officials. This also comes as nuclear negotiations are now deadlocked and could complicate a resumption of negotiations and the conclusion of an agreement on the Iranian nuclear file.
The local television channel Kurdistan24, whose studios are not far from the new premises of the American consulate, published on its social networks images of its damaged offices, with collapsed sections of the false ceiling and broken glass. ” We condemn this terrorist attack launched against several sectors of Erbil, we call on the inhabitants to remain calm “, indicated in a press release the Prime Minister of Kurdistan, Masrour Barzani.
The repercussion of regional tensions
In January 2020, Iran fired missiles into Iraq at bases housing US soldiers, in retaliation for Washington’s assassination of the Iranian General Qassem Soleimani carried out a few days earlier on Iraqi territory. In half an hour, 22 Iranian surface-to-surface missiles had thus fallen on the bases of Aïn al-Assad (west) and Erbil (north).
Regional tensions and geopolitical uncertainties regularly affect Iraqi news. At the beginning of the year, the country had experienced an upsurge in rocket and armed drone attacks. Tehran and several allied groups in the region commemorated the second anniversary of the death of General Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mehdi al-Mouhandis, killed by US drone fire.
At the end of January, six rockets were fired at Baghdad International Airport, causing no casualties. In Erbil, the last such attack dates back to September, when ” armed drones took aim at the airport.
Iran nuclear talks suspended
Sunday’s attack also comes at a time when talks on Iran’s nuclear power, about to conclude, have been abruptly suspendedfollowing new demands from Moscow.
Concluded by Iran on one side, and the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and Germany on the other, this pact was supposed to prevent Tehran from acquiring the bomb atomic in exchange for the lifting of the sanctions which are suffocating its economy. But it crumbled in 2018 after Washington withdrew, decided by Donald Trump, who restored his measures against Iran. In response, Iran gradually freed itself from the limits imposed on its nuclear program. Negotiations resumed after Joe Biden was elected to the White House.
(with AFP)