Pentagon officials have claimed that Iran aimed to miss when it fired 22 missiles at US forces in Iraq on Wednesday night.
A US official said that no Americans were killed in the strike, leading the Pentagon to believe that the Iranian regime was “aiming to miss.”
However, experts said the type of missile Iran used was notoriously unreliable, and that the regime may well have missed targets by accident.
It came as Boris Johnson has said he opposes any “escalation of violence” in the Middle East, as he urged Iran not to repeat its missile attacks that struck US bases in Iraq overnight and called for them to back down from conflict.
The Prime Minister, who added that there appeared to be no UK casualties following the strike on Western forces, called on Iran to pursue “urgent de-escalation.”
As details emerged of the retaliatory strikes, where 22 missiles were fired, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: “We urge Iran not to repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks, and instead to pursue urgent de-escalation.”
The rockets from Iran struck US targets last night, hitting two Iraqi airbases where American and coalition forces are based.
Iran launched surface-to-surface missiles in attacks on the Ain al-Assad and Erbil bases as revenge for the killing of Gen Qassim Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad last week.
There are so far no reports of casualties, but it was Iran’s most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the US Embassy in Tehran. The operation was codenamed “Martyr Soleimani”.
In a sign that Tehran was seeking to draw a line under the recent escalation of tensions, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said: “We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression”.
Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei has said the missile strikes were a “slap in the face” for Washington.
The head of state reiterated added that the US may have ‘cut off Soleimani’s arm’ but Iran would respond by ‘cutting off your leg’ in the Middle East region.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a branch of the Iranian army close to the country’s supreme leader, has ordered the White House to “recall US troops” from the region.
Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said: “It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran.”
He said the attacks “targeted at least two Iraqi military bases” and that the US is “working on initial battle damage assessments”. There are about 5,000 American troops in Iraq.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump appeared to have taken decision to follow the pact of peaceful resolution of the crisis.
Trump responds to Iran’s missiles attack on US troops in Iraq
In his address to the Americans on Wednesday, Trump said America will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons or be given free pace to sponsor terrorists.
“The United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime,” Trump said, noting his administration is continuing to review other options to respond to the Iranian missile strike on Tuesday.
“These powerful sanctions will remain until Iran changes its behavior,” he added. “In recent months alone, Iran has seized ships in international waters, fired an unprovoked strike on Saudi Arabia and shot down two American drones.”
Trump seemed to keep his options open by explicitly describing American military readiness.
“Our missiles are big, powerful, accurate, lethal and fast,” he said, a warning tucked into a speech that otherwise indicated an easing of strain.
“The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it,” Trump said. “We do not want to use it. American strength, both military and economic, is the best deterrent.”
Iran fired a number of missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops Wednesday local time in retaliation for the American strike that killed a top Iranian general last week.
