Iran declares it was not behind attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, he “decisively” rejected claims that Iran-backed forces were behind recent attacks against the U.S.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has not had any involvement, directly or indirectly, in any armed attacks by any entities or individuals against the United States in Iraq,” he wrote, according to parts of the letter’s text published by state-run IRNA news on Monday.

Last month, several rockets hit a military base inside the airport in Erbil, northern Iraq, which killed one foreign civilian contractor and wounded at least nine others, including an American soldier, Aljazeera reported. 

Aljazeera reminded several other rocket attacks were launched against U.S. interests in Iraq in the following weeks and wrote, “Most recently, several rockets landed in the Ain al-Asad base in early March.”

In reaction to the recent attacks, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered an air attack on facilities in eastern Syria near the border with Iraq, which the U.S. claimed are used by Iran-backed militias.

The air attack, which Biden said was “proportionate” and aimed at creating “deterrence”, killed 22 people, according to war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In his letter, Iran’s envoy to the UN condemned the air attack, calling it “illegal”.

The U.S. attacks amount to a “violation of the sovereignty of the region’s countries and a clear symbol of the gross violation of international rights and the UN Charter,” Takht-Ravanchi remarked.

He also asserted the U.S. moves only destabilize the region further and serve to advance the interests of “terrorist groups”.

Takht-Ravanchi requested the letter be formally recognized as a UN Security Council document.

Source: Tehran Times