President Donald Trump issued a clear warning this week to Iranian leaders in the wake of a recent rocket attack.
In a tweet on Wednesday, he asserted that he “will hold Iran responsible” if one U.S. citizen is killed as a result of such provocations.
“Some friendly health advice”
The admonition was an apparent reference to reports that a U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, was targeted in the latest attack.
“Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed I will hold Iran responsible,” Trump wrote. “Think it over.”
Earlier in the week, news broke that indicated the rocket strike occurred on Sunday and that the target was Iraq’s so-called Green Zone. Also known as the International Zone, this area is a highly fortified area of Baghdad that was occupied by American forces during the 2003 invasion.
Initial reports revealed that a number of rockets were launched in the offensive and that U.S. military forces deployed a counter rocket, artillery, and mortar defense system — known as C-RAM — in response.
The damage was said to be minimal. Although there were initially no reports of deaths or injuries, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo subsequently clarified that there was at least one Iraqi civilian casualty.
“Hit Sunday by several rockets”
Additional details have trickled in since those first reports. A U.S. Central Command update showed that 21 rockets had been launched and that an “Iranian-backed Rogue Militia Group” was believed to be behind the attack.
Trump’s tweets on the matter came in the wake of the latest news.
“Our embassy in Baghdad got hit Sunday by several rockets,” he wrote. “Three rockets failed to launch. Guess where they were from: IRAN. Now we hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq.
He followed up his remarks with a warning that came just a couple of weeks shy of the one-year anniversary of the U.S. takedown of arch-terrorist Qassem Soleimani, the former top general of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It is unclear whether the latest move was a form of retaliation.
It was not the first, however, as the Washington Examiner reported: “One attack in November left one woman dead after rockets slammed into the U.S. Embassy and other parts of Baghdad” and earlier this month, “two convoys transporting logistical equipment for the U.S.-led coalition helping Iraqi troops fight militants were hit with roadside bombs.”
The post 'Think it over': Trump issues dire warning to Iran after report of rocket attack first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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