Trump 'downplaying' impact of Iranian strikes: state TV

Trump 'downplaying' impact of Iranian strikes: state TV
Iranian state media has accused US President Donald Trump of downplaying the impact of Iran's strikes on US positions in Iraq on Wednesday.
2 min read
08 January, 2020
Donald Trump claimed 'all is well' following Iran's strikes early on Wednesday [Getty]
Iran has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s “all is well” tweet in response to Tehran's recent missile strikes on American military positions in Iraq as little more than posturing.

Iranian state television said on Wednesday that Trump tried to downplay damage caused by Iran’s missile attacks on US targets through the tweet.

The US president had taken to Twitter, where he appeared to remain confident in the wake of Iranian rockets fired at two air bases in Iraq housing US troops.

“All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now," the president tweeted.

“So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well-equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.”

"Tens of missiles" were launched by the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps, which confirmed an attack on the Ain Al-Assad Airbase and a military base in Erbil, just days after the killing of the top Iranian military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

"The brave soldiers of IRGC's aerospace unit have launched a successful attack with tens of ballistic missiles on Al Assad military base in the name of martyr Gen. Qassem Soleimani," an IRGC statement said, according to state-run Press TV.

Iranian state television also claimed on Wednesday that 80 “American terrorists” were killed in the missile strike.

Washington and Irdenied that there were any US casualties.

An escalation

The killing of Soleimani has rocked regional politics and plunged Washington and Tehran into a dangerous game of posturing cat and mouse. Soleimani’s supporters in the region, including in Iraq expressed outrage over what they argue is US interference in regional security.

Iran has already vowed "vengeance" for Soleimani, who was mourned by unprecedented crowds across the country Monday.

President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that the US is targeting 52 sites in Iran and will hit them "very fast and very hard" if the Islamic republic attacks American personnel or assets.

In a tweet defending Friday's drone strike assassination of a top Iranian general in Iraq, Trump said 52 represents the number of Americans held hostage at the US embassy in Tehran for more than a year starting in late 1979.

Trump said some of these sites are "at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!"

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