Iran Warns of Painful Response to Any New Aggression
TEHRAN (Kayhan Intl.) — Iran struck back at the United States early Wednesday for assassinating its massively charismatic anti-terror commander, firing a series of ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq housing American troops.
It was Iran’s most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and Iranian state TV said it was in revenge for the U.S. assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, whose martyrdom last week in an American drone strike near Baghdad prompted angry calls to avenge his slaying.
The strikes came as Iran buried Gen. Soleimani in his hometown of Kerman.
‘All is well!’ President Donald Trump tweeted shortly after the missile attacks, adding, ‘So far, so good’ regarding casualties. Moments earlier, Iran’s foreign minister tweeted that Tehran had taken "& concluded proportionate measures in self-defense,” adding that Tehran did "not seek escalation” but would defend itself against further aggression.
The assassination of Gen. Soleimani — a national hero to many in Iran — and strikes by Tehran marked the first time in recent years that Washington and Tehran have attacked each other directly.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warned the U.S. and its regional allies against further aggression after the missile attack against the Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq’s western Anbar province.
"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 IRGC said.
Iran’s armed forces chief of staff warned that "any new mischief” by the United States will be met with "a more crushing and decisive response.”
"The time has come for the evil rulers of the United States to withdraw their terrorist army forces as quickly as possible from the region,” Major General Muhammad Baqeri said.
The overnight retaliation following US assassination of the Middle East’s most prominent anti-terror commander demonstrated only a fraction of the capabilities of the Iranian armed forces, he said in a statement.
"The glorious overnight operation demonstrates only a fraction of the capability of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces and is a response to the terrorist act of the American regime in martyring the honorable commander General Qassem Soleimani,” Baqeri said.
"And from now on, any new American mischief will face a stronger, more crushing and wider response,” he added.
Tasnim news agency quoted an informed source at the IRGC intelligence organization as saying that at least 104 targets in the region had been pinpointed for attack in case the Americans perpetrated any new aggression.
According to the source, 15 ballistic missiles hit Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province early Wednesday morning, none of which were intercepted by the radar system of the "terrorist American Army”.
"The time now has come for evil rulers of the United States to have a better understanding of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s capability in a wide geography of the world and adopt a principled approach,” Gen. Baqeri said.
Ain al-Asad air base was first used by American forces after the 2003
U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, and later saw American troops stationed there. It houses about 1,500 U.S. and coalition forces. The U.S. also acknowledged another missile attack targeting a base in Arbil in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region.
The Iranians fired a total of 15 missiles, two U.S. officials said. The IRGC said not a single missile was intercepted and all found their targets.
IRGC’s Deputy Commander for Operations Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan confirmed that Iran’s missiles "precisely hit their intended targets.”
According to the official, even though intelligence showed U.S. forces across the region had been on high alert and fully prepared prior to the strikes, they completely failed to intercept the missiles fired by the Corps.
They failed to even slightly divert the missiles, even by a few meters, he told Tasnim news agency.
Two Iraqi security officials said at least one of the missiles appeared to have struck a plane at the Ain al-Asad base, igniting a fire.
Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami says Tehran’s next responses to the U.S. assassination of a top Iranian general will be proportionate to what Washington will do.
"Our next measure will naturally be proportionate to the ones the Americans will take. Our measures will definitely continue,” the minister told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting.
Trump visited the sprawling Ain al-Asad air base, about 100 miles or 60 kilometers west of Baghdad, in December 2018, making his first presidential visit to troops in the region. Vice President Mike Pence also has visited the base.
"As we evaluate the situation and our response, we will take all necessary measures to protect and defend U.S. personnel, partners and allies in the region,” said Jonathan Hoffman, an assistant to the U.S. defense secretary.
Wednesday’s revenge attack happened a mere few hours after huge crowds in Iran mourned Gen. Soleimani at his funeral.
Gen. Soleimani’s slaying has led Tehran to abandon the remaining limits of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers as his successor and others vow to take revenge.
In Iraq, lawmakers in parliament have pushed to oust American troops from Iraqi soil following U.S. assassination of Gen. Soleimani and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Germany and Canada announced plans to move some of their soldiers in Iraq to neighboring countries.
It was Iran’s most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and Iranian state TV said it was in revenge for the U.S. assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, whose martyrdom last week in an American drone strike near Baghdad prompted angry calls to avenge his slaying.
The strikes came as Iran buried Gen. Soleimani in his hometown of Kerman.
‘All is well!’ President Donald Trump tweeted shortly after the missile attacks, adding, ‘So far, so good’ regarding casualties. Moments earlier, Iran’s foreign minister tweeted that Tehran had taken "& concluded proportionate measures in self-defense,” adding that Tehran did "not seek escalation” but would defend itself against further aggression.
The assassination of Gen. Soleimani — a national hero to many in Iran — and strikes by Tehran marked the first time in recent years that Washington and Tehran have attacked each other directly.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warned the U.S. and its regional allies against further aggression after the missile attack against the Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq’s western Anbar province.
"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 IRGC said.
Iran’s armed forces chief of staff warned that "any new mischief” by the United States will be met with "a more crushing and decisive response.”
"The time has come for the evil rulers of the United States to withdraw their terrorist army forces as quickly as possible from the region,” Major General Muhammad Baqeri said.
The overnight retaliation following US assassination of the Middle East’s most prominent anti-terror commander demonstrated only a fraction of the capabilities of the Iranian armed forces, he said in a statement.
"The glorious overnight operation demonstrates only a fraction of the capability of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces and is a response to the terrorist act of the American regime in martyring the honorable commander General Qassem Soleimani,” Baqeri said.
"And from now on, any new American mischief will face a stronger, more crushing and wider response,” he added.
Tasnim news agency quoted an informed source at the IRGC intelligence organization as saying that at least 104 targets in the region had been pinpointed for attack in case the Americans perpetrated any new aggression.
According to the source, 15 ballistic missiles hit Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province early Wednesday morning, none of which were intercepted by the radar system of the "terrorist American Army”.
"The time now has come for evil rulers of the United States to have a better understanding of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s capability in a wide geography of the world and adopt a principled approach,” Gen. Baqeri said.
Ain al-Asad air base was first used by American forces after the 2003
U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, and later saw American troops stationed there. It houses about 1,500 U.S. and coalition forces. The U.S. also acknowledged another missile attack targeting a base in Arbil in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region.
The Iranians fired a total of 15 missiles, two U.S. officials said. The IRGC said not a single missile was intercepted and all found their targets.
IRGC’s Deputy Commander for Operations Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan confirmed that Iran’s missiles "precisely hit their intended targets.”
According to the official, even though intelligence showed U.S. forces across the region had been on high alert and fully prepared prior to the strikes, they completely failed to intercept the missiles fired by the Corps.
They failed to even slightly divert the missiles, even by a few meters, he told Tasnim news agency.
Two Iraqi security officials said at least one of the missiles appeared to have struck a plane at the Ain al-Asad base, igniting a fire.
Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami says Tehran’s next responses to the U.S. assassination of a top Iranian general will be proportionate to what Washington will do.
"Our next measure will naturally be proportionate to the ones the Americans will take. Our measures will definitely continue,” the minister told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting.
Trump visited the sprawling Ain al-Asad air base, about 100 miles or 60 kilometers west of Baghdad, in December 2018, making his first presidential visit to troops in the region. Vice President Mike Pence also has visited the base.
"As we evaluate the situation and our response, we will take all necessary measures to protect and defend U.S. personnel, partners and allies in the region,” said Jonathan Hoffman, an assistant to the U.S. defense secretary.
Wednesday’s revenge attack happened a mere few hours after huge crowds in Iran mourned Gen. Soleimani at his funeral.
Gen. Soleimani’s slaying has led Tehran to abandon the remaining limits of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers as his successor and others vow to take revenge.
In Iraq, lawmakers in parliament have pushed to oust American troops from Iraqi soil following U.S. assassination of Gen. Soleimani and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Germany and Canada announced plans to move some of their soldiers in Iraq to neighboring countries.
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