US base is hit by missiles in Iraq as Middle East disaster spirals
Rockets were fired at America’s Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq injuring multiple troops, security sources confirmed on Monday.
The base in the west of the country was targeted by two Soviet-made Katyusha rockets amid soaring tensions in the Middle East – with Iran threatening to strike Israel as early as tonight.
The attack injured several American service personnel, security sources confirmed.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, however Iran’s proxy forces in Iraq and Syria frequently attack US bases at times of heightened tension.
Joe Biden was already scheduled to meet with his national security team in the Situation Room today as the lame-duck president seeks to soothe blistering tensions between Israel and Iran after the Jewish state assassinated Hamas leaders in Tehran and Beirut, Lebanon, last week.
Rockets were fired at Ain al-Assad air base hosting U.S. forces in Iraq (pictured in 2021)
The Islamic Republic could attack Israel in the next 24 to 48 hours following a major attack by Hezbollah that left two IDF soldiers injured, top western diplomats have warned.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the G7 yesterday that an attack in response to Israel’s killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut was imminent, Axios reported.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III reportedly spoke to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Sunday to assure the Jewish state of U.S. support.
It would mark the second time during the growing crisis in the Middle East that Iran has directly attacked Israel, the first being in April when it sent a salvo of missiles and drones overnight.
Iran has clearly signaled that it intends to attack its foe, claiming it has the ‘legal right’ to respond to Haniyeh’s assassination. Foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani told a news conference: ‘No one has the right to doubt Iran’s legal right to punish the Zionist regime.’
President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with his national security team in the Situation Room later on Monday amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel
Footage shows the Iron Dome system firing defensive missiles (pictured) to intercept the barrage amid ongoing clashes between Israeli troops and Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters
The head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami, also threatened Israel, warning that the state was ‘digging its own grave’ by carrying on its war against the terror group Hamas.
‘They will see the result of their mistake. They will see when, how and where they will get their response,’ Salami said during a speech.
The threat from Iran comes just hours after Hezbollah, backed by the Iranian regime, launched a silo of 30 missiles from Lebanon towards upper Galilee.
The escalating tensions between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran have led to growing fears of an all-out war breaking out in the Middle East between Israel and Tehran’s proxies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation is already in a ‘multi-front war’ with Iran, adding during a Cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israel is prepared for any scenario.
Netanyahu has also been accused of not being ‘sincerely interested in a ceasefire’, as Hamas’ Haniyeh was the terror group’s lead ceasefire negotiator.
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation is already in a ‘multi-front war’ with Iran
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The country is set to attack Israel imminently, claiming it has the ‘legal right’ to respond to Haniyeh’s assassination
The U.S. said on the G7 call on Sunday that its choice to increase its military capability in the region was to bolster defense.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has left at least 39,583 people dead in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.
This is a breaking news story and will continue to update
