‘Not a warning, it is a threat’
Trump warns Iran would pay ‘big price’ for attack, rules out war
US President Donald Trump warned Tehran it would “pay a very big price” after a mob of pro-Iranian demonstrators stormed the American embassy compound in Iraq, as his government said it is sending hundreds more troops to the Middle East.
Angered by US air strikes that killed two dozen paramilitary fighters on Sunday, hundreds of protesters spilled through checkpoints in the high-security Green Zone Tuesday, demanding the removal of American troops from Iraq and voicing loyalty to a powerful Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the attack was “orchestrated by terrorists,” one of whom he named as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Muhandis has been identified as second-in-command of the Tehran-backed Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary group.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said around 750 troops from a rapid response unit of the 82nd Airborne Division are prepared to deploy over the next several days to the region.
Prior to the announcement, a US official told AFP that “up to 4,000 (troops) may ultimately be deployed”.
The US had already flown a rapid response team of Marines into Baghdad to reinforce its embassy after the attack Tuesday, which left smoke and flames rising from the embassy entrance and further heightened tension between Tehran and Washington.
Trump blamed Tehran for the embassy attack and warned that it would face punishment if Americans are killed.
“Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities,” Trump said on Twitter.
“They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat,” wrote Trump, adding “Happy New Year!”
However, Trump later told reporters that he did not foresee war with Tehran.
Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday strongly condemned the US strikes on pro-Iran forces that killed at least 25 fighters and warned his country was ready to confront threats.
Live broadcasts showed the protesters battering down the high-security doors of the embassy reception building, smashing windows, burning a sentry box and chanting “Death to America!”
By yesterday afternoon, supporters of Iraq’s pro-Iranian force Hashed al-Shaabi began leaving the encircled US embassy in Baghdad but hardliners insisted they would stay.