U.S. officials are bracing for Iran to take retaliatory measures as the one year anniversary of the strike on its top general is on the horizon.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to warn Iran against conducting attacks on Americans in retaliation for the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani earlier this year.
āOur embassy in Baghdad got hit Sunday by several rockets. Three rockets failed to launch,ā Trump wrote. āGuess where they were from: Iran. Now we hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq.ā
He added, āSome friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over.ā
On January 3, 2020, the U.S. carried out a strike on Soleimani after an Iranian-backed militia attacked the U.S. embassy in Iraq.
Days later, IranrespondedĀ by firing over a dozen missiles at an Iraqi military base where U.S. soldiers were stationed in retaliation for the strike on Soleimani. The attackĀ did not killĀ any U.S. soldiers, but it did cause traumatic brain injury to over 100 soldiers.
At the time, it was unclear if the missile attack would be Iranās last attempt to avenge Soleimaniās death.
However, on Sunday, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was targeted by several missiles. But in a series of tweets it said there were no American injuries or casualties ā although it added that there were reports that āinnocent Iraqi civiliansā were injured during the attack.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement regarding the attack and said it was carried out by Iranian-backed militias.
Axios reports that the U.S. is considering closing its embassy ahead of January 3 amid concerns of further retaliatory actions by Iran.