Several US veterans’ organizations call for president to apologize for remarks about injuries suffered by service members in Iraq
Veterans of Foreign Wars, a prominent organization advocating for US military veterans, has called for Donald Trump to apologize for remarks downplaying brain injuries recently suffered by nearly three dozen American service members in Iraq.
Related: Trump downplays brain injuries suffered by US troops in Iran missile strike
Continue reading...Thirty-four US soldiers have been diagnosed with concussion or traumatic brain injury from an 8 January Iranian missile attack on their base in Iraq, the Pentagon has revealed.
The Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said on Friday that eight service members who had been previously transported to Germany had been moved to the United States.
Continue reading...Baghdad police said three Katyusha rockets were launched from the Zafaraniyah district just outside the city
Three rockets have fallen inside Baghdad’s Green Zone on Tuesday morning, close to the US embassy.
A BBC reporter said alarms were sounding in the US embassy complex and speakers were telling those inside to take shelter.
Continue reading...Officials piece together profile of Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi
The new leader of Islamic State has been confirmed as Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi, according to officials from two intelligence services. He is one of the terror group’s founding members and has led the enslavement of Iraq’s Yazidi minority and has overseen operations around the globe.
The Guardian has learned that Salbi was named leader hours after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October. The name that the group gave for Baghdadi’s replacement at the time, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, was a nom de guerre not recognised by other senior leaders or intelligence agencies.
Continue reading...The strike on Suleimani represented a significant victory for Pompeo, his outsize influence on Trump and his Iran fixation
When the US embassy in Baghdad was mobbed on the last day of 2019, a rattled Donald Trump turned to his most hawkish aide, Mike Pompeo, and finally agreed to the extreme measure the secretary of state had long advocated: the assassination of Qassem Suleimani.
The drone strike on the Iranian general a week ago may well turn out to be one of the most consequential decisions of the Trump presidency. It represented a significant victory for Pompeo, reflecting his ascendancy in foreign policy and national security spheres.
Continue reading...Secretary of state says US is only willing to discuss future structure of forces in country
Washington is not willing to bow to Iraqi demands to withdraw its troops and any future discussions with Baghdad will be purely confined to the future structure of its forces in the country, the US state department has said.
The recommitment to US troops in Iraq defies an Iraqi parliament vote last week demanding all US forces leave in the wake of the killing of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani by a drone strike in Baghdad. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said the US was only willing to discuss force reconfiguration with the Iraqis, and a greater contribution by Nato forces.
Continue reading...Qassem Suleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad, was widely considered to be the most powerful man in Iran after the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – and Iran's leading military figure.
Suleimani’s assassination has plunged the Middle East into a crisis that seems likely to lead to further escalation between Washington and Tehran. The Guardian's Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov examines what motivated Donald Trump to order the assassination
Continue reading...‘Iran appears to be standing down,’ Trump said, in an uncharacteristically sober speech following rising tensions between US and Iran
Donald Trump backed away from further military confrontation with Iran on Wednesday after days of escalating tensions, saying Tehran appeared to be standing down following missile attacks on two Iraqi bases hosting US and coalition troops.
Flanked by the vice-president, Mike Pence, the defense secretary, Mark Esper, and other high ranking military officials in uniform, Trump delivered remarks in the Grand Foyer of the White House, hours after Iran declared the attack to be retaliation for the US drone strike last week that killed the senior Iranian Gen Qassem Suleimani.
Continue reading...Despite first direct military action against US in 40 years, Iran’s action results in toned down rhetoric on both sides
The call had been expected any time since Friday. And when it finally came, the acting Iraqi prime minister knew what to expect. Just before 2am in Baghdad, Adel Abdul Mahdi listened to a message from Tehran informing him that Iranian rockets were airborne and heading his country’s way.
Related: Trump backs away from further military confrontation with Iran
Continue reading...Donald Trump described the missile assassination of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani as 'decisive action to stop a ruthless terrorist', before adding: 'Last week we eliminated the world’s top terrorist.'
Additional economic sanctions on Iran were announced during the White House conference as Trump called for Europe to break away from the 'foolish' nuclear deal
Continue reading...As a new Republican president seeks re-election, senior figures in Washington warn history may be repeating itself
A Republican president facing a tough re-election campaign and widely viewed as hopelessly out of his depth. Bureaucrats itching to turn US military firepower on a Middle Eastern regime they claim without evidence is plotting an imminent attack. Compliant sections of the media that put flag-waving jingoism ahead of skeptical scrutiny.
So it was in late 2002, when President George W Bush’s administration built unstoppable momentum towards invading Iraq, promising to destroy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that never existed. Nearly two decades later the potential target is not Iraq but Iran, with many of the same concerns over false pretexts and official lies.
Continue reading...Australia appears set to remain in Iraq, even as other US allies such as Germany and Canada pull their troops out
Scott Morrison has told the chief of the Australian defence force “to take whatever actions are necessary” to protect Australian troops and diplomats in Iraq after Iran began bombing allied military bases. All defence and diplomatic staff in the country were now safe, Morrison said.
Australia’s military appears set to remain in Iraq as long as the US does, even as other allies such as Germany and Canada pull their troops out of the country.
Continue reading...Tehran can show it has retaliated over the assassination of Qassem Suleimani, while US may shrug off limited nature of strike
The “severe revenge” Iran promised for the death of Qassem Suleimani was heralded on Wednesday morning by at least two waves of short-range missile attacks on bases in Iraq hosting US and coalition personnel.
The attacks will provide an opportunity for hawks inside the Donald Trump administration to ratchet up the conflict with Iran – but also potentially a pathway out of the crisis.
Continue reading...The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the Middle East as he headed to Brussels for talks with his German and French counterparts.
Britain, Germany and France have called for a de-escalation of tension in the region following the assassination of the top Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani in a US drone strike last week
Continue reading...Dozens of people have been killed in a crush in the south-eastern Iranian city of Kerman, where hundreds of thousands of mourners have gathered for the burial of the military commander Qassem Suleimani, according to state media.
The vast crowds in Suleimani's home town matched the huge turnouts in Baghdad, Tehran, Qom, Mashhad and Ahvaz in recent days to say farewell to the commander of the Revolutionary Guards external operations force, who was killed by a US drone strike in Iraq on Friday
Continue reading...Iran’s supreme leader wept as he led prayers in Tehran at the funeral of Qassem Suleimani, the general killed by a US drone strike last week. Mourners, which state media said numbered in the millions, chanted 'death to America'. Donald Trump has defended his threat to target Iranian cultural sites – widely seen as a war crime – if Tehran retaliates for the killing
Continue reading...Tehran has vowed revenge for the killing of Qassem Suleimani but conflict is not yet certain
The threats emanating from Twitter feeds and podiums in Tehran and Washington might suggest the moment for diplomacy has long passed, and some form of war between the US and Iran following the assassination of Qassem Suleimani is now inevitable.
The only consideration that might hold the two sides back is the possible consequences. Tehran has tasted the unpredictability of Donald Trump and however much the desire for revenge beats in the hearts of Iranians, European leaders are pleading with Tehran’s leadership, saying it has a responsibility to use its head and recognise any direct attack on US assets in the Middle East is likely to be met with a further escalation by Trump.
Continue reading...In the north-east city of Mashhad, mourners accompanied a casket carrying the Iranian general's remains. Earlier that day, his body had been taken to Ahvaz, in the south-west. Iran has threatened 'harsh retaliation' for the US strike that killed the top military commander.
Continue reading...Thousands have gathered across Iran and Iraq to mourn the death of Iran's top general, Qassem Suleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad. Mourners chanted 'death to America' and burned US flags as Iranian authorities vowed vengeance for Suleimani's death
The Iraqi television channel Ahad TV has shared CCTV footage purporting to show the moment a US drone strike killed Iran's top general, Qassem Suleimani
Continue reading...