Iran has claimed responsibility for a missile barrage that struck early on Sunday near a sprawling US consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, saying it was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two of its Revolutionary Guards.
No injuries were reported in the attack, which marked a significant escalation between the US and Iran. Hostility between the countries has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on their website that they launched the attack against an Israeli “strategic centre of conspiracy” in Erbil. They did not elaborate, but in a statement said that Israel had itself been on the offensive, citing the strike in Syria.
Earlier, a US defence official and Iraqi security officials said the strike was launched from neighbouring Iran.
One Iraqi official in Baghdad initially said several missiles had hit the US consulate in Erbil and that it was the target of the attack. Later, Lawk Ghafari, the head of Kurdistan’s foreign media office, said none of the missiles had struck the US facility but that areas around the compound had been hit. A statement by the interior ministry of Iraq’s Kurdistan region said the missiles were launched from outside Iraq, from the east, without naming Iran.
The US defence official said it was still uncertain exactly how many missiles were fired and exactly where they had landed. A second US official said there was no damage at any US government facility and that there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and currently unoccupied.
Neither the Iraqi official nor the US officials were authorised to discuss the event with the media and spoke to Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The satellite broadcast channel Kurdistan24, which is located near the US consulate, went on air from its studio shortly after the attack, showing shattered glass and debris on the studio floor.
The attack came several days after Iran said it would retaliate for the Israeli strike near the Syrian capital, Damascus. On Sunday, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Iraqi media acknowledging the attacks in Erbil, without saying where they originated.
The Iraqi security officials said there were no casualties in the Erbil attack, which they said occurred after midnight and caused material damage in the area.
Another US official said in a statement that the US condemned what it called an “outrageous attack against Iraqi sovereignty and display of violence”.
US forces stationed at Erbil’s airport compound have come under fire from rocket and drone attacks in the past, with US officials blaming Iran-backed groups. The top US commander for the Middle East has repeatedly warned about the increasing threats of attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed militias on troops and allies in Iraq and Syria.
In an interview with Associated Press in December, Marine Gen Frank McKenzie said that while US forces in Iraq have shifted to a non-combat role, Iran and its proxies still want all American troops to leave the country. More attacks may be triggered as a result, he said.
The Biden administration decided last July to end the US combat mission in Iraq by 31 December, and US forces gradually moved to an advisory role last year. The troops will still provide air support and other military aid for Iraq’s fight against Islamic State.
The US presence in Iraq has long been a flashpoint for Tehran, but tensions rose after a US drone strike in January 2020 near Baghdad airport killed a top Iranian general. In retaliation, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at al-Asad airbase, where US troops were stationed. More than 100 service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in the blasts.
Iraq’s prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, tweeted: “The aggression which targeted the dear city of Erbil and spread fear amongst its inhabitants is an attack on the security of our people.”