Trump pulls back from military response to Iranian attack

US president Donald Trump has announced new sanctions on Iran but stepped back from immediate military retaliation after Wednesday’s attack on American troops by the Iranian regime.

In an address to the nation from the grand foyer of the White House, Mr Trump said that “Iran appears to be standing down,” after Wednesday’s attack, noting that no Americans were killed in the operation.

Flanked by generals and senior members of the administration, Mr Trump said that Iran has been “the leading sponsor of terrorism and their pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens the civilized world.” But he stressed that “as long as I’m president of the United States Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.”

Mr Trump spoke at length about the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), calling on Britain, France, Germany and others to “break away from the remnants of the Iran deal, or JCPOA” and “make a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place.”

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In a major rebuke of his predecessor Barack Obama’s Iran strategy, Mr Trump said the attacks on American troops on Wednesday had been “paid for with the funds made available by the last administration.”

He also called on Nato to become more involved in the Middle East, noting that America has become less dependent on Middle Eastern oil.

He defended the decision to kill top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani who he described as the “world’s top terrorist.”

Suleimani’s hands were “drenched in both American and Iranian blood,” he said. “He should have been terminated long ago.

His comments come after Iran targeted two Iraqi military bases housing US forces overnight, in a major escalation of hostilities following the killing of Suleimani last week.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it had fired the missiles as “hard revenge” for the death of Suleimani, and warned that any further aggressions would “bring about more painful and crushing responses”.

Despite US confirmation that there were no casualties from the attack, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that 80 Americans had been killed. Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei described the attack as a “slap” to America.

Nonetheless, there were widespread reports that Iran deliberately avoided US casualties in Wednesday morning’s attacks.

Baghdad rockets

US vice president Mike Pence told CBS News in an interview that the United States was receiving “encouraging intelligence that Iran is sending messages” to its allied militias not to attack US targets. But army general Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he and others in the military “fully expect” Shia militia groups in Iraq, backed by Iran, to carry out attacks against US and US-led forces in Iraq and Syria. Two rockets fell on Wednesday in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, causing no casualties, the Iraqi military said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Mr Trump’s highly-anticipated statement was delivered amid heightened tensions in the Middle East with airlines rerouting flight paths away from Iranian and Iraqi air space. In an apparently unrelated incident, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukraine crashed near Tehran airport on Wednesday morning.

The Pentagon confirmed that Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles in a targeted attack at about 1.30 am local time. “It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil,” the Department of Defence said in a statement.

There was an early sign on that Mr Trump could refrain from a major retaliatory response in a tweet on Tuesday night following the missile attack. “All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good!” he wrote.

Similarly, Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif tweeted that Iran did not seek “escalation or war” and suggested that it had “concluded” its mission.

EU meeting

EU foreign ministers have organised a special meeting on Friday to discuss the ongoing crisis.

In the meantime, Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin said it was “extremely disappointing” that the Tánaiste Simon Coveney has yet to make a “meaningful comment” on events unfolding in Iran.

He said Mr Coveney had taken “a vow of silence” on the assassination of Soleimani which is “both surprising and disappointing”.

“The Irish Government should be a strong voice for restraint and adherence to international law, particularly with the United States with whom we have a close historical friendship.” He said the Government wanted to sit at the top table of international affairs, as the Government continued its bid for a seat on the UN security council, but that Mr Coveney “risks shredding Ireland’s international credibility as an independent and neutral state”.

Fianna Fáil TD and spokesman for foreign affairs Seán Haughey said Mr Coveney should outline Ireland’s commitment to peace in the Middle East.

“Ireland, along with the European Union, should continue to act as honest brokers and use its influence to promote and support dialogue and engagement between all actors involved.

“At the extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council meeting convened by High Representative/Vice President Josep Borrell for this Friday it is incumbent that the Tánaiste attends and stresses Ireland’s commitment to peace and security in the Middle East region and our desire to safeguard and revitalise the Iran nuclear deal.”

A spokesman for Mr Coveney did not respond to requests for a comment on the issue.–Additional reporting Reuters