Iran says Revolutionary Guards attacked Israel's 'spy HQ' in Iraq, US reacts: Top updates

The latest attack on Israel's resources comes after Iran had vowed to avenge the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards claim to have attacked Israel's spy headquarters in Iraq, state media reported on Monday. The Guards claimed that they destroyed the headquarters near Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region with ballistic missiles.

Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (Reuters File Photo)

"In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance ... one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles," the Guards said in a statement as quoted by news agency Reuters.

"We assure our nation that the Guards' offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyrs' blood," the Guards' statement said further.

The latest attack on Israel's resources comes after Iran had vowed to avenge the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month. Notably, Iran also backs the Hezbollah militants in Lebanon who have been involved in exchange of fire with Israeli forces on the border.

What Iraqi security sources said

• Multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family died in the attacks
• One rocket fell on the house of a senior Kurdish intelligence official and another on a Kurdish intelligence center
• Air traffic at Kurdistan's Erbil airport was halted.

How the US reacted

The US State Department has condemned the attacks which happened near Kurdistan’s capital Erbil. However, the US revealed that US facilities or personnel were not targeted.

"We tracked the missiles, which impacted in Northern Iraq and Northern Syria. No U.S. personnel or facilities were targeted," Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement.

"We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes," she said, adding: "The United States supports the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq."

Tension in the Middle East

Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the Middle East region in under tension with countries like Lebanon, Iran, Yemen extending their support for Hamas in Gaza.

The situation has caused worry of a wider conflict and the international community including the US are trying to avoid such an escalation.

Notably, Houthi militants in Yemen have been targeting ships in the Red Sea, claiming attacks on vessels linked to Israel. Houthi-attacks has severely affected commercial shipping in the region. And as a retaliatory measure, forces of the US and the UK recently performed airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.