REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani
Iran warned the U.S. on Monday of “consequences” after Washington executed a series of airstrikes targeting Iran-backed militia group Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq and Syria a day earlier. The strikes reportedly killed 25 people and wounded at least 51 more, and they were the first significant military response to attacks by the militia group on American military personnel, CNN reported. Weeks ago, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iranian-backed forces for the series of attacks on American bases in Iraq and said such moves would be “answered with a decisive U.S. response.”
After the strikes on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mosavi said the U.S. has “openly shown its support to terrorism and shown its negligence to the independence and national sovereignty of countries,” according to the state-run IRNA news agency. He added: “It must accept responsibility of the consequences of the illegal attacks.” Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant and political group, also condemned the airstrikes, calling them “a blatant violation on the sovereignty, security and stability of Iraq and the Iraqi people.”