Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt exports first high-tech potato seeds to Uzbekistan after opening market    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Sudan's ambassador to Egypt holds reconstruction talks on with Arab League    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Sisi calls for boosting oil & gas investment to ease import burden    Egypt welcomes 25-nation statement urging end to Gaza war    Sisi sends letter to Nigerian president affirming strategic ties    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    58 days that exposed IMF's contradictions on Egypt    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



As U.S.-Iran tension increases, rocket fired near Iraq's U.S. Embassy
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 21 - 05 - 2019

A rocket was fired into the Iraqi capital Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and diplomatic missions, on Sunday night, falling near the U.S. Embassy but causing no casualties, the Iraqi military said.
The attack came two weeks after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iraqi leaders during a surprise visit to Baghdad that if they failed to keep in check Iran-backed militias, which are expanding their power in Iraq and now form part of its security apparatus, the United States would respond with force.
His visit came after U.S. intelligence showed Iran-backed Shi'ite militias positioning rockets near bases housing U.S. forces, according to two Iraqi security sources.
A U.S. State Department official noted that there had so far been no claim of responsibility, and that no U.S.-inhabited facility was impacted.
"But, we take this incident very seriously," the official said. "We will hold Iran responsible if any such attacks are conducted by its proxy militia forces or elements of such forces, and will respond to Iran accordingly."
The Iraq military said the Katyusha rocket fell in the middle of the Green Zone, near the Monument of the Unknown Soldier.
The monument lies in open ground about half a kilometer (a third of a mile) north of the sprawling, riverside U.S. Embassy compound. The blast was heard across central Baghdad, according to Reuters witnesses and residents.
The embassy in Baghdad and U.S. consulate in the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital Erbil has already evacuated non-emergency staff, out of apparent concern about perceived threats from Iran.
Iran's Iraqi allies rushed to condemn the attack and stressed that a war between Tehran and Washington would be bad for Baghdad and the whole region.
Militia leader and politician Hadi al-Ameri, whose electoral block holds the second largest number of seats in Iraqi's parliament, urged Iraqis in a statement overnight "not to be the fire that fuels this war" that would "burn everyone".
His sentiment was echoed by Qais al-Khazali, another prominent Iran-backed militia leader, who tweeted that a war would be neither in Washington's nor in Tehran's interests.
IRAN-U.S. TENSION
Tensions between Washington and its Gulf Arab allies on one side and Tehran and its proxies in the region on the other, have been flaring for weeks.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran in a tweet, raising concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict.
"If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!" he tweeted.
Trump has tightened economic sanctions against Iran, and his administration says it has built up the U.S. military presence in the region. It accuses Iran of threats to U.S. troops and interests. Tehran has described U.S. moves as "psychological warfare" and a "political game".
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group claimed responsibility for a drone strike on two oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia last week. The kingdom accused Tehran of ordering the attack.
Two days earlier, four vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
Both Iran and the United States have said they do not want war.
After the blast, Iraqi police special forces found a rocket launcher in eastern Baghdad's al-Sina district, about 7 km (4 miles) away across the Tigris River from the Green Zone, and sealed off the area, a police source told Reuters.
Officers were searching for suspects and an ordnance disposal team from the Baghdad Operations Command was inspecting the launcher, the source said.
The Green Zone was regularly targeted by mortars during the U.S. occupation of Iraq that ended in 2011.
Rockets have occasionally been fired into the Green Zone since then. The latest such incident was in September, when three mortar shells landed inside the Green Zone, causing no casualties.
The Katyusha multiple rocket launcher is an inexpensive type of rocket artillery that can deliver explosives to a target quicker than conventional artillery, but is less accurate.
On the other hand, Britain raised the threat level for its forces in Iraq due to "a range of threats to UK and coalition forces" related to "Iran's destabilizing behavior in the region."
The German and Dutch Defense Ministries said they had temporarily paused their training missions in Iraq, which also includes troops that train Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the autonomous Kurdish region.
source: Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.