Missiles from Iran strike near new US consulate in Iraq

US officials say a missile strike that landed near the American consulate construction site in northern Iraq was launched from Iran.

Iran launches a missile. A recent attack has landed near a US consulate in Iraq. A handout picture provided by Iran's Defence Ministry on August 20, 2020, shows Picture: AFP

A missile strike on Sunday that landed in the vicinity of an American consulate under construction in northern Iraq originated from Iran, US officials said.

The attack comes as the US is edging closer to cementing a deal to revive the 2015 agreement with Tehran that constrains Iran’s nuclear program.

The compound wasn’t hit and no American personnel were hurt, US officials said.

They added that they weren’t sure what was being targeted and the attack was still under investigation.

The assault involved as many as a half-dozen missiles, and at least one landed more than 2km from the new compound, according to US officials familiar with the preliminary reports. While a series of attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have been carried out in recent years using drones and rockets, it is rare for such strikes to emanate from Iranian territory.

US officials said the missile attack may have been in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike in Syria on Monday that killed two members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said after the strike Iran would take steps to hold ­Israel accountable.

Israel has been carrying out airstrikes against Iranian-backed militias and Iranian personnel in Syria as it seeks to prevent Iran from transferring weapons to Hezbollah.

The campaign includes placing mines on ships carrying oil and other goods that are bound for Syria.

The Iranians have previously sought to pressure the US to constrain its Israeli allies.

In October, Iran directed five drones at the al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria, which is defended by a small contingent of US forces and American-trained Syrian fighters.

The Iranians said in a confidential message to the US at that time that the attack was in response to an Israeli airstrike that killed two Iranian officers in Syria.

In January, the US embassy complex in Baghdad was struck by four rocket attacks that injured at least two individuals. That attack originated from inside Baghdad and was believed to have been carried out by an Iranian-backed militia group.

A US State Department spokesman didn’t provide details of the new rocket attack, its origins or say what the targets may have been.

“The incident is being investigated by the government of Iraq and the Kurdish regional government,” to a State Department statement said.

“We condemn this outrageous attack and display of violence.”

The US has a consulate inside Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, and is building a new one 14km from the centre of the city.

The strikes come as Washington has been rushing to complete talks to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran. That agreement was close to being completed until Russia raised a fresh demand that its trade with Iran be exempted from Ukraine-related sanctions.

In January 2020, Iran fired ballistic missiles at the Al-Asad base in western Iraq where US troops were deployed. That was meant to avenge Donald Trump’s decision to order a drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force.

The Wall Street Journal