JUST IN: US will retaliate Iran’s attacks with fresh economic sanctions, Trump says

Date:

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. suffered no casualties in the missiles attack by Iran on an Iraqi airbase used by American soldiers.
Naija247news reported the attack which Iran said was in retaliation for the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general, Qasam Soleimani.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

Mr Trump while addressing journalists at the White House said the U.S, suffered only minimal damage to facilities during the ballistic missile attack.

“No American or Iraqi lives were lost,” he said.

The American leader made no mention of any planned military retaliation against Iran for the attack.

He, however, said the U.S. will immediately impose additional economic sanctions on Iran.

He also said his administration worked with Iran to defeat ISIS and is willing to work with them on other matters.

“The destruction of ISIS is good for Iran and we should work together on this and other shared priorities,” he said.

President Trump declared Wednesday that Iran “appears to be standing down,” in the wake of missile strikes on American bases in Iraq that he said resulted in “no casualties.”

“The American people should be extremely grateful and happy,” Trump said, in an address to the nation from the White House the morning after the attacks. “No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime.”

TRANSCRIPT OF TRUMP’S IRAN REMARKS

While the attacks marked the latest escalation with Tehran in the precarious aftermath of a U.S. drone strike that killed the top Iranian general, they appeared to open the door to reducing tensions after it became clear that no American forces were killed. Trump indicated Wednesday that he considers the nature of the strikes as a sign that Tehran has taken an off-ramp.

“Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned,” he said.

He added: “No American or Iraqi lives were lost.”

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER CALLS MISSILE STRIKE AT BASES A ‘SLAP IN THE FACE,’ WARNS IT’S NOT ENOUGH

At the same time, he said the U.S. continues to evaluate options. Trump said he would immediately impose economic sanctions, called on other world powers to break away from the Iran nuclear deal and called on NATO to become more involved in the Middle East.

“As long as I am president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” he vowed.

“Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism,” Trump said, calling on the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China to “recognize this reality” and “break away from the remnants” of the Obama-era nuclear pact. He claimed that the “very defective” deal “gives Iran a clear and quick path to nuclear breakout.”

The president touted the military under his administration, but added: “The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we need to use it. … We do not want to use it.”

Trump said: “The U.S. is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.”

The president’s address comes after Iran fired as many as 15 ballistic missiles into Iraq. Ten missiles hit the Ain al-Asad Air Base, which houses U.S. troops, one missile hit a U.S. military base in Erbil, and four missiles failed to hit their targets, according to a U.S. military spokesman for Central Command, responsible for American forces in the Middle East.

The late Tuesday attacks unfolded in two waves, about an hour apart.

“In recent days and in response to Iranian threats and actions, the Department of Defense has taken all appropriate measures to safeguard our personnel and partners,” a Pentagon statement released late Tuesday said. “These bases have been on high alert due to indications that the Iranian regime planned to attack our forces and interests in the region. As we evaluate the situation and our response, we will take all necessary measures to protect and defend U.S. personnel, partners, and allies in the region.”

While no U.S. or other NATO casualties were reported, the bases were potentially vulnerable.

U.S. defense officials told Fox News the U.S. military did not attempt to shoot down the ballistic missiles fired from Iran because there were no American military assets in place to intercept them. The Patriot and Avenger anti-missile defense systems are deployed to other locations in the Middle East, but not to the two Iraqi bases targeted by Iran. Officials say the American assets are in high demand and short supply around the world.

“For the past few years, our focus was defeating ISIS and keeping a light footprint in Iraq. We did not need air defense systems against ISIS,” one official said, explaining why there were no U.S. missile defense systems in place at the Iraqi bases.

Iran’s foreign minister said the targets in Iraq were chosen because that is where U.S. Special Operations forces launched the drone strike to kill Qassem Soleimani.

Just after the missile strikes, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps warned the U.S. and regional allies against retaliating for the attack.
Mixed messages? Iran launches missile attack, insists they don’t want a war with the USVideo

“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,” IRGC warned in a statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, while also threatening Israel.

Pentagon officials told Fox News that Iran had more than 2,000 ballistic missiles — a figure determined in the latest U.S. intelligence assessment.

The attack late Tuesday came just days after a U.S. airstrike killed Iranian Quds Force Gen. Soleimani. The U.S. blamed Soleimani for the killing of hundreds of American troops, and said he was plotting new attacks just before his death.

Iranian officials and Trump have traded threats since Soleimani’s death, and more U.S. troops have been deployed to the region amid heightened tensions.

IRANIAN OFFICIAL TWEETS PHOTO OF IRANIAN FLAG AFTER ATTACK ON US TROOPS IN IRAQ

Iran-backed militias in Iraq, known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), have threatened revenge on American interests and personnel for the killings.

On Sunday, Iraqi lawmakers approved a resolution to expel U.S. forces from the country. U.S. troops were deployed to Iraq five years ago at the request of the Iraqi government, after the Islamic State overtook vast swaths of the country.

After the attack on U.S. bases Tuesday night, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that ballistic missile attacks targeting U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq Wednesday morning were “a slap in the face” to the United States.

Khamenei said the U.S. should leave the region, adding, “Military action like this is not sufficient. What is important is ending the corrupting presence of America in the region,” Reuters reported.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson, Frank Miles, Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Naija247news
Naija247newshttps://www.naija247news.com/
Naija247news is an investigative news platform that tracks news on Nigerian Economy, Business, Politics, Financial and Africa and Global Economy.

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

Kaduna Governor Advocates for State Police Amidst Banditry Challenges

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, emphasized the urgent need...

EFCC Retrieves 324 Houses for Kano Pensioners in Alleged N4.1 Billion Property Fraud

Yesterday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) handed...

“More CBN Directors Face Dismissal Amidst Controversy”

Twelve additional directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria...

NNPCL’s Kyari to Feature Prominently at 2024 CERAWeek Conference

Mr. Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of...

Discover more from Naija247news

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading