Iran warns U.S. President Donald Trump against 'adventurism' before leaving White House
Iran on Thursday warned the US president against any "adventurism" before leaving the White House, after Donald Trump said he would hold "Iran responsible" for any fatal attack on Americans in Iraq. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's comments came after Trump accused Iran of being behind a rocket attack Sunday on the US embassy in the Iraqi capital.
- World
- Reuters
- Published Date: 07:22 | 24 December 2020
- Modified Date: 07:27 | 24 December 2020
Iran's foreign minister on Thursday dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump's allegations that Tehran was behind the recent rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
"Putting your own citizens at risk abroad won't divert attention from catastrophic failures at home," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.
Trump said on Wednesday the rockets that landed in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday, targeting the U.S. Embassy, were from Iran and "we hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq".
"Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over," Trump said in a Twitter post.
In another tweet, Zarif said: "Last time, the U.S. ruined our region over WMD (weapons of mass destruction) fabrications, wasting $7 TRILLION & causing 58,976 American casualties" - a reference to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
"Trump will bear full responsibility for any adventurism on his way out," Zarif tweeted.
The Iraqi military blamed the rocket strike, which caused minor damage, on an "outlaw group".
Top U.S. national security officials agreed on Wednesday on a proposed range of options to present to Trump meant to deter any attack on U.S. military or diplomatic personnel in Iraq, a senior administration official told Reuters, without describing the content of the options or say whether they included military action.
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