Attacks on Friday also described as ‘a strategic mistake’ by Iran, which insisted no Revolutionary Guards were present in areas hit
The US reprisal strikes in Syria and Iraq will have disastrous consequences for the region, the military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, has warned. Maj Gen Yehia Rasool’s response was one of many from inside the Iraqi government that furiously condemned a violation of its sovereignty.
The US military launched airstrikes on Friday against more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the militias it backs, in retaliation for last weekend’s drone attack in Jordan that killed three US troops. Iraq’s Anbar Operations Command reported 16 fatalities and 25 injuries, but no official death toll has been issued.
Iran claimed the attacks would only hasten the withdrawal of US troops from both countries and insisted that no Revolutionary Guards had been present in the areas struck by US forces, a claim that will be tested in the hours ahead.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said it was “an adventurous action and a strategic mistake that will result in increased tension and instability in the region”, adding that the attacks would only lead to the US government becoming “more engaged” in the region than it was before.
The US decision to strike inside Iraq, relayed to the Iraqi government in advance, was always a high risk since political pressure has been mounting in the Iraqi parliament for months to conclude negotiations that end with an agreement for US troops to withdraw.
