Tehran warns Donald Trump after US airstrikes target pro-Iran militia in Iraq

Tehran has warned United States President Donald Trump against taking “dangerous actions” on March 13 after later's remarks on taking responsibility for the recent attacks in Iraq on the pro-Iran militia. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi reportedly underscored Trump's statement and said that Washington shall not hold others accountable for the consequences of its presence in Iraq with “baseless accusations”. The US had launched a series of airstrikes on March 12 targetting an Iran-backed militia in Iraq that is blamed for a major rocket attack that killed two American troops along with one British soldier. 

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US airstrikes in Iraq

Iraq's military had said in a statement that the US air raids had struck four locations in the country. The Pentagon had said on March 13 that the strikes appeared limited in scope and narrowly tailored, targeting five weapons-storage facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah including facilities that were used to store weaponry for past attacks on US-led coalition troops. The airstrikes by the US were even praised by British foreign secretary Dominic Raab and called them a “proportionate” response to the attack which killed the UK's soldier which was “cowardly”. 

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However, the US military did not estimate how many people were killed in Iraq but according to reports, there were no high-profile killings like the one which was authorised by Donald Trump in January. US Defence Secretary Mark Esper reportedly detailed the strikes and cautioned that the US was prepared to respond again in a similar manner if needed. 

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(With agency inputs)