Iran targets US troops in Iraq

TEHRAN, Iran Iran struck back at the United States for the killing of a top Iranian general early Wednesday, firing a series of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops and warning the United States and its allies in the region not to retaliate. The strikes by Iran were amajor escalation of tensions that have been rising steadily across the Mideast following months of threats and attacks after President Donald Trump s decision to unilaterally withdraw America from Tehran s nuclear deal with world powers. Iranian state TV said the attack was in revenge for the U.S. killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, whose funeral procession Tuesday in his hometown of Kerman prompted angry calls to avenge his death. Soleimani s killing and Iran s missile strikes also marked the first time in recent years that Washington and Tehran have attacked each other directly rather than through proxies in the region. It raised the chances of open conflict eruptiich have been foes since the days immediately following Iran s 1979 Islamic Revolution. U.S. officials confirmed both strikes, though Iran only initially acknowledged targeting one base. There was no immediate word on injuries. Iran s Revolutionary Guard warned the U.S. and its regional allies against retaliating over the missile attack against the Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq s western Anbar province. The Guard issued the warning via a statement carried by Iran s state-run IRNA news agency. 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, The Guard said. It also threatened Israel. After the strikes, a former Iranian nuclear negotiator mposted a picture of the Islamic Republic s flag on Twitter, appearing to mimic Trump who posted an American flag following the killing