Iranian Military Chief Refutes Trump's Allegations Of Planned Attacks On US Forces In Iraq

Umer Jamshaid Published April 02, 2020 | 10:41 PM

Tehran is monitoring the activity of the United States' military in Iraq but does is not planning any attacks, Iranian Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri said on Thursday, adding that his country was ready to respond if there is any hostile activity

TEHRAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2020) Tehran is monitoring the activity of the United States' military in Iraq but does is not planning any attacks, Iranian Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri said on Thursday, adding that his country was ready to respond if there is any hostile activity.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump warned that Iran or its proxies might be planning an attack on the US military or their assets in Iraq, and added that Tehran would pay a heavy price if it went through with the intention.

"If there is even the slightest prospect of any actions, steps or an unkind look towards the security of our country, then they will face a harsh response. However, Iran does not plan attacks on foreign forces," Bagheri told reporters.

The military chief also pointed to the intensification of the US military activity in Iraq and the Persian Gulf, and warned that Iran was closely monitoring all of the United States' moves in the region.

Trump's Wednesday remarks came after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that Iran considered the US forces' "warmongering" in Iraq to be dangerous and could create "catastrophic conditions" that would destabilize the region.

On Sunday, the US-led international coalition officially transferred K1 Air Base in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk to the Iraqi Armed Forces as part of relocating its troops to better-protected facilities in the middle Eastern country.

This week, the US reportedly deployed Patriot air defense systems to an Iraqi military base in the Anbar province as a precaution against Iranian-backed militia attacks. The move prompted speculations that the US was preparing an attack on Iran's Shiite militia proxies that had been accused of carrying out rocket attacks on Iraqi bases hosting foreign troops in recent months.