{"id":200129,"date":"2020-01-01T07:01:23","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T07:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=200129"},"modified":"2020-01-04T07:11:36","modified_gmt":"2020-01-04T07:11:36","slug":"trump-accuses-iran-over-storming-of-us-embassy-compound-in-baghdad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=200129","title":{"rendered":"Trump accuses Iran over storming of US embassy compound in Baghdad"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Luke Harding \u2013 The Guardian Dec 31, 2019<\/h1>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8230;.Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/1212121026072592384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 31, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Protesters in <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/iraq\">Iraq<\/a> have dealt a symbolic blow to US prestige by storming the American embassy in Baghdad, trapping diplomats inside while chanting \u201cDeath to America\u201d and slogans in support of pro-Iranian militias.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In a humiliating day for Washington, hundreds of demonstrators besieged the US compound, at one point breaching the main gate and smashing their way into several reception rooms. They lit fires, battered down doors, and lobbed bricks at bulletproof glass.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The rampage was carried out with the apparent connivance of Iraqi security forces who allowed protesters inside the highly protected Green Zone. They made their way to the embassy, climbing walls and hurling stones. US guards responded with tear gas but did not open fire.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Donald Trump accused Iran of orchestrating the day-long attack, which followed US airstrikes on Sunday against three camps in Iraq and two in <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/syria\">Syria<\/a>. The bases belonged to the Iran-backed Kata\u2019ib Hezbollah militia group, which is formally part of the Iraqi army. At least 25 fighters were killed and dozens injured.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">US officials said the raids were carried out to deter future acts of aggression following a rocket attack on Friday by the group against a US base in Kirkuk, in which one US contractor was killed and four Americans were injured. President Trump approved the operation on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Instead of advancing US goals, the airstrikes appear to be the latest in a series of foreign policy blunders in the Middle East. Iraq\u2019s government furiously condemned them, while pro-Iranian militias promised further attacks against American targets, with the goal of expelling US forces.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">\u201cIran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will,\u201d Trump <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/1211981022084128768\">tweeted<\/a>. \u201cNow Iran is orchestrating an attack on the US Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The US embassy denied earlier reports from Iraq\u2019s foreign ministry that the ambassador and his staff were hastily evacuated, as protesters surged towards the building.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_200093\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/iraq-embassy-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-200093\" class=\"wp-image-200093\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/iraq-embassy-2-768x432.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/iraq-embassy-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/iraq-embassy-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/iraq-embassy-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/iraq-embassy-2-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/iraq-embassy-2.jpg 1862w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-200093\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters damage property inside the U.S. embassy compound, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">An embassy spokesperson <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/middleeast\/live-news\/iraq-us-embassy-protest-baghdad-live-updates-intl\/index.html\">told CNN<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that the chief of the US mission in Iraq, Matthew Tueller, was away on a scheduled vacation and had left Baghdad a week ago. The embassy was under lockdown but had not been evacuated, the spokesperson said, with diplomats sheltering in a safe-room.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Video from the scene showed thick grey smoke engulfing the compound against a backdrop of wailing from an emergency siren. Protesters shouted \u201cNo, no, America!\u201d and \u201cNo, no, Trump!\u201d, and \u201cDeath to America!\u201d. By nightfall fires were still burning. One masked man walked off insouciantly with an official US embassy sign.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Former foreign service staff compared the chaotic scenes to the ransacking in 1979 of the US embassy in Tehran, which saw 52 US citizens taken hostage. Tuesday\u2019s events, however, were not on the same dramatic scale. There was no loss of life and most of the embassy building survived intact.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Nonetheless, the prospect of a worsening conflict between US forces and Iranian proxies in Iraq looms large. The Trump administration\u2019s policy of piling sanctions and economic pressure on Tehran appears to have brought about few tangible diplomatic results and has taken relations with Iraq to a new low.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Iraq\u2019s prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi \u2013 an ally of both <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/iran\">Iran<\/a> and Washington \u2013 vowed on Tuesday to protect the safety and security of US personnel. After doing little initially to halt the violence Iraqi security forces turned up in force in the afternoon, and formed a protective line between angry crowds and US guards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo said the US would \u201cprotect and defend its people\u201d in a phone call with Abdul-Mahdi. The viability of the US\u2019s diplomatic mission in Baghdad \u2013 its largest in the world \u2013 is now an open question, as demonstrators set up tents outside its perimeter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Many of the protesters had come from funerals held in Baghdad for some of the dead militia fighters. They were carrying flags belonging to Kata\u2019ib Hezbollah and to Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces), a powerful paramilitary group of which Kata\u2019ib Hezbollah is a part.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Qais al-Khazali, the leader of the Iranian-backed Asa\u2019ib Ahl al-Haq militia, and many other senior militia leaders were among the demonstrators. On Monday, Iran condemned the US strikes as \u201cterrorism\u201d. Russia complained it had not been given advance warning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Street protests take place regularly in the Iraqi capital. <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2019\/dec\/07\/protesters-return-baghdad-square-after-slaughter-iraq\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>In recent months<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, security guards have shot dead more than 450 people protesting against rampant government corruption and the growing influence of Iranian-backed groups, including Kata\u2019ib Hezbollah<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2019\/dec\/31\/us-embassy-stormed-in-baghdad\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump warns that Iran \u201cwill pay A VERY BIG PRICE\u201d for the storming of the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[58,51,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Current_Affairs","category-Iran","category-Iraq"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=200129"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":200132,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200129\/revisions\/200132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=200129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=200129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=200129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}