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| Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images |
After hundreds of supporters of an Iran-backed Shiite Iraqi militia stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, President Trump pointed squarely at Iran, accusing the country — the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism — of “orchestrating” the attack and promising that Iran “will be held fully responsible.” Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responded Wednesday by taunting Trump, declaring, “You can’t do a damn thing.”
In response to recent attacks by the Iran-supported Kataeb Hezbollah militia, including an attack Friday that resulted in the death of an American contractor, the U.S. military conducted strategic airstrikes on five of the militia’s facilities in Iraq and Syria on Sunday. Kataeb Hezbollah, the U.S. Department of Defense noted in a statement on the airstrikes, has “a strong linkage” with Iran’s Quds Force, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.
In retaliation for the airstrikes, which killed some 25 of the militia’s fighters, hundreds of supporters of the Iran-backed group converged on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, with dozens breaking into the compound and setting fires amid shouts of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
Trump responded by blaming Iran and vowing to take action. “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!” Trump tweeted Tuesday, adding in another post: “Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat.”
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On Wednesday, Khamenei made his first public remarks about the attack on the embassy by tauntingly responding to Trump’s threat.
“That guy has tweeted that we [the United States] see Iran responsible for the events in Baghdad and we will respond to Iran,” Khamenei said in a televised address on state-controlled TV Wednesday, as reported by The Daily Mail.Read the rest of the story HERE and follow link below to a related story:
Trump Show of Strength Pays Off, Militants Reported Withdrawing from Baghdad Embassy Siege
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