WAR OF WORDS
Iran insist they don’t want war with US and missile strikes ‘concluded’ retaliation for Qasem Soleimani’s execution
IRAN doesn’t want a war and its retaliation for a top general’s killing by the US is now over, the country's foreign minister said today.
Tehran fired at least 15 ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq last night in response to the killing of Qasem Soleimani by an American drone last week.
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The strike sparked fears of a tit-for-tat escalation as the world awaits the US response, with Iraqi PM Adel Abdul-Mahdis warning of a "devastating all-out war".
But Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif today said the attack was “proportionate” and had “concluded”, adding that Iran did not want a war.
He tweeted: “Iran took and concluded proportionate measures in self-defence under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens and senior officials were launched.
“We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.”
The series of attacks this morning were aimed at Al Asad and Erbil air bases, according to a report from a Tehran-based news agency.
'80 DEAD' CLAIM
Iranian state TV claims 80 "American terrorists" were killed, but US officials insisted there are no reports of casualties and said troops were able to hide in bunkers.
Iran also said it had identified 100 sites in the region that would be targeted were the US to retaliate.
A Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed near Tehran's main airport just hours after the attack, killing all 176 people on board and sparking fears it had been shot down.
President Trump took to Twitter Tuesday night to respond to the Iranian missile attack.
He wrote: "All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now.
"So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far!"
Trump announced he will be making a statement on the issue today.
Iran's state TV boasted the operation was named Martyr Soleimani and was carried out in memory of General Qasem Soleimani, the Revolutionary Guard leader killed last week in a US drone strike.
In a public address, Supreme Leader Ali Khomeini described the attack as a "slap in the face" for the US.
He added that it was "not close to the significance of the brutal crime you have committed" by killing Soleimani, and that "real revenge will be to remove you from the region".
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TEN MISSILES HIT TARGET
Ten of the ballistic missiles struck the Al Asad Airbase in Iraq, one hit the town of Erbil, and four others were unsuccessful in hitting their targets, according to a US official.
The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said there were no immediate reports of American casualties, but building searches are being conducted.
Soon after the missiles were launched, Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif called the attack a proportionate measure in self-defence and said he doesn't want the situation to escalate.
Zarif tweeted: "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression."
Footage of the missile strikes appeared to have showed fiery explosions.
Top Democrats in Congress were briefed by Vice President Mike Pence Tuesday on the Iranian strikes on installations in Iraq holding US forces.
VP Pence's spokeswoman Katie Waldman confirmed the vice president has had constant communication with national security officials.
Surface-to-surface missiles - said to have been fired from inside Iran - were aimed at the Al-Asad air base that houses American troops.
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Plane crashes in Iran hours after missile barrage
3am local time - Iran announced it had fired ballistic missiles as two US army bases in Iraq in what they said was an 'act of self-defense'
6am - Iranian state TV claimed that 80 'American terrorists' were killed during the bombing but President Trump responded with a tweet saying: "All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good!"
6.15am - Flight PS752 takes off from Tehran Airport but crashed shortly after departure
8.30am - All 176 people on board a Ukrainian commercial airliner that crashed after take-off from Tehran are confirmed dead by an Iranian emergency official
10.30am - Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemns missile strikes on Iraqi military bases and urges Iran 'not to repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks'
12pm - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko confirms three British nationals were on board the doomed flight
Another facility in Erbil, in the Kurdish region of Iraq, was also targeted.
Video shows several rockets glowing in the night sky. They are believed to be defensive rockets set up to intercept the missiles.
The Revolutionary Guard then warned the US and its regional allies against retaliating.
An hour after the attack began a second round of rockets was launched, Iranian media said.
It came after huge crowds took to the streets of Iran to mourn Soleimani.
The Iranian Fars news agency tweeted a picture of a missile being fired with the words: "Hard Revenge."
State TV also described the attack, which took place early on Wednesday morning local time, as Tehran’s revenge operation for Soleimani’s death.
“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 Guard said in a statement, that also threatened Israel.
A US military source in Iraq told Fox News: “Under missile attack from Iran. These are either cruise missiles or short range ballistic missiles. All over the country.”
Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said: "We are working on initial battle damage assessments."
Al-Asad air base was first used by American forces after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
It later saw American troops stationed there amid the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria and was visited by Donald Trump in 2018.
Soleimani, 62, spearheaded Iran's military operations in the Middle East as head of the country's elite Quds Force, considered to be a terrorist organisation by the US.
Trump claimed he ordered the strike because Soleimani was plotting further attacks and the killing sparked a tense wait for Iran’s response amid fears of a devastating war.
Thousands of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran for his funeral on Monday.
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Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept over the general's casket during his prayers as mourners waved flags and demanded revenge.
And thousands more turned out in his home town of Kerman today, sparking a stampede which left 40 dead and 213 injured.
A procession in Tehran on Monday drew over a million people in the Iranian capital, crowding both main avenues and side streets.
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Donald Trump warns Iran its ‘campaign of terror’ is over as he fires back after Tehran missile strikes on US bases