TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s defense minister said Wednesday US bases in Iraq were hit with Iranian domestically-made, short range missiles. President Trump is expected to give a statement about the attack at 9 a.m. Wednesday. On Twitter, the president said there were no American casualties.
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
General Amir Hatami said that the US had taken measures to prevent casualties, knowing that Iran would be taking revenge for the killing of its top General in a US drone strike last week.
“Of course those preparations didn’t help them stop the missiles from hitting (the targets), but they had certainly taken measures to prevent casualties, we need some time to see what has happened there,” Hatami told Iranian TV.
Iran struck back at the United States early Wednesday for killing General Qassem Soleimani, firing a series of ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq that house American troops in a major escalation between the two longtime foes.
It was Iran’s most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
US and Iraqi officials said there were no immediate reports of casualties, though buildings were still being searched. The Iraqi government later confirmed there were no casualties among Iraqi forces.