Photos: Iran strikes US bases in Iraq, Trump responds

Updated On Jan 09, 2020 03:15 pm IST

The US and Iran stepped back from the brink of possible war on Wednesday as President Donald Trump signaled he would not retaliate militarily for Iran's missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing US troops. No one was harmed in the strikes, but US forces in the region remained on high alert. Iran for days had been promising to respond forcefully to Iran’s Revolutionary guard commander Man, General Qassem Soleimani's killing by the US in an airstrike in Baghdah, but its limited strike on two bases has appeared to signal refrain from a wider clash with the US.

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A satellite image of damage(C, top; R; and lower L) to the Ain al-Asad US airbase in western Iraq. Iran struck back at the United States early on Wednesday for the killing of Revolutionary Guard general Qassem Soleimani, firing a barrage of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases that house American troops in what was initially feared to become an escalation of the conflict. (Planet Labs Inc./AFP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 03:15 pm IST

A satellite image of damage(C, top; R; and lower L) to the Ain al-Asad US airbase in western Iraq. Iran struck back at the United States early on Wednesday for the killing of Revolutionary Guard general Qassem Soleimani, firing a barrage of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases that house American troops in what was initially feared to become an escalation of the conflict. (Planet Labs Inc./AFP)

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Iranian state television said 15 ballistic missiles were fired at US targets. The Pentagon said al-Asad and another facility in Erbil were targeted. According to the Iraqi military, 22 missiles were fired between 1.45am and 2.45am (4.15am and 5.15am IST) on Wednesday. Iranian state television said 80 “American terrorists” had been killed, and US helicopters and military equipment damaged. It did not say how it obtained that information. (Iran Press/AFP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 03:15 pm IST

Iranian state television said 15 ballistic missiles were fired at US targets. The Pentagon said al-Asad and another facility in Erbil were targeted. According to the Iraqi military, 22 missiles were fired between 1.45am and 2.45am (4.15am and 5.15am IST) on Wednesday. Iranian state television said 80 “American terrorists” had been killed, and US helicopters and military equipment damaged. It did not say how it obtained that information. (Iran Press/AFP)

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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a gathering in Tehran on Wednesday. “Last night they received a slap,” Khamenei said in a speech after the missile strikes. “These military actions are not sufficient (for revenge). What is important is that the corrupt presence of America in this region comes to an end.” (Official Khamenei website via REUTERS)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 03:15 pm IST

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a gathering in Tehran on Wednesday. “Last night they received a slap,” Khamenei said in a speech after the missile strikes. “These military actions are not sufficient (for revenge). What is important is that the corrupt presence of America in this region comes to an end.” (Official Khamenei website via REUTERS)

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Qassem Soleimani’s funeral on Tuesday in his hometown of Kerman had prompted angry calls to avenge his death. The Revolutionary Guard warned the US against retaliating over the missile attack in 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. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 03:15 pm IST

Qassem Soleimani’s funeral on Tuesday in his hometown of Kerman had prompted angry calls to avenge his death. The Revolutionary Guard warned the US against retaliating over the missile attack in 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. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen speaking on a TV screen in the Kuwait Bourse (stock exchange), as investors sit and monitor the shares in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Iran’s first act of retaliation after the killing of Soleimani roiled global financial markets on Wednesday but expectations of an immediate escalation to the conflict in the oil-producing region appeared to recede as no Americans were killed. (Stephanie McGehee/REUTERS)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 03:15 pm IST

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen speaking on a TV screen in the Kuwait Bourse (stock exchange), as investors sit and monitor the shares in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Iran’s first act of retaliation after the killing of Soleimani roiled global financial markets on Wednesday but expectations of an immediate escalation to the conflict in the oil-producing region appeared to recede as no Americans were killed. (Stephanie McGehee/REUTERS)

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Speaking from the White House later in the day, US President Donald Trump announced new economic sanctions against Iran and vowed to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. He did not offer any specifics of the “additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime”. “Iran appears to be standing down which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world,” he said. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 03:15 pm IST

Speaking from the White House later in the day, US President Donald Trump announced new economic sanctions against Iran and vowed to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. He did not offer any specifics of the “additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime”. “Iran appears to be standing down which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world,” he said. (Evan Vucci/AP)

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People participate in the "No War With Iran" protest in New York’s Times Square. Trump said he would ask NATO to play a larger role in West Asia, and urge the remaining signatories of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or the Iran nuclear deal) to withdraw, following the American pullout in 2018, to force Iran to sign a new agreement. “The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it,” he said. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 03:15 pm IST

People participate in the "No War With Iran" protest in New York’s Times Square. Trump said he would ask NATO to play a larger role in West Asia, and urge the remaining signatories of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or the Iran nuclear deal) to withdraw, following the American pullout in 2018, to force Iran to sign a new agreement. “The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it,” he said. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP)

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Trump said early warning systems helped prevent casualties, but there were also reports that indicated Iran provided advanced warning of the attacks to the Iraqis, who passed it on the US and coalition forces. An Iranian army spokesperson denied “foreign media reports” suggesting there had also been some kind of coordination between Iran and the US before the attack to allow bases to be evacuated, Fars news agency said. (Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANAvia REUTERS)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 03:15 pm IST

Trump said early warning systems helped prevent casualties, but there were also reports that indicated Iran provided advanced warning of the attacks to the Iraqis, who passed it on the US and coalition forces. An Iranian army spokesperson denied “foreign media reports” suggesting there had also been some kind of coordination between Iran and the US before the attack to allow bases to be evacuated, Fars news agency said. (Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANAvia REUTERS)

News / Photos / News / Photos: Iran strikes US bases in Iraq, Trump responds

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