Tension between US and Iran increased after Iran retaliated by attacking two US military bases by firing ballistic missiles. Earlier on January 3, US conducted a drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and send Iran in a state of shock.
President Trump, via a tweet, confirmed that missiles were launched by Iran.
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! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2020
In addition, US Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, on Tuesday said that the ‘United States wants to de-escalate tensions with Iran, but the country is ready to finish any war that could be started’.
He also added, that what they would however like, is that the situation gets de-escalated.
Washington has maintained that it killed Soleimani in self-defence, aiming to disrupt his plans to attack U.S. personnel and interests.
“The threat was being orchestrated by Soleimani,” Esper said. “I think it was only a matter of days, certainly no more than weeks” before an attack.
Also Read: 80 ‘American terrorists’ killed: Iran on the missile attack
He also said that US military would not violate the laws of armed conflict by striking Iranian cultural sites. Targeting cultural sites with military action is considered a war crime under international law, including a U.N. Security Council resolution supported by the Trump administration in 2017 and the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property.
He clarified that US is not withdrawing troops from Iraq following a weekend vote by Iraq’s parliament to expel American forces.
The heightened tensions between US and Iran have reached a fevered pitch in the wake of last week’s US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani.
On the other hand, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, an elite wing of the Iranian military, said the missile attacks on two US military bases were “hard revenge” for the killing of Soleimani.