President Trump issued a severe warning to Iran on Wednesday after a rocket attack earlier this week against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and said that if an American is killed, he will hold Tehran responsible.
Trump’s threat came in the form of a tweet that included a photo of what he identified as three Iranian rockets that were not launched. He said there were rumors that Tehran could be planning future attacks against Americans in Iraq.
“Iran-friendly health advice: If an American is killed, I will hold Iran accountable. Think about it.”
The US Central Command said in a statement that the December 20 attack on the Green Zone – which included 21 rockets – was probably from an “Iran-backed Rogue Militia Group”.
The statement said “it was clearly NOT intended to prevent victims” and damaged buildings in the complex. The New York Times pointed out that January 3 is the anniversary of the drone attack that killed Major General Qassim Suleimani, one of Iran’s leading military figures.
The Times reported that at least one Iraqi citizen was killed.
Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, seemed to ignore Trump’s threat. He later tweeted, “Putting your own citizens at risk abroad will not distract from catastrophic failures at home.”
Reuters reported that the Iraqi army downplayed any Iranian connection to the attack and attributed it to an “outlaw group”.
Last month, Trump discussed retaliatory measures against Iran’s nuclear program during a meeting with his national security team after the International Atomic Energy Agency reported a considerable increase in the country’s uranium stock, sources told Fox News.