Iran lashes out at US strikes as a ‘clear example of terrorism’ after attacks on Iraq & Syria announced

Tehran has described recent US strikes as an "act of terrorism," after the Pentagon announced attacks on Hezbollah targets in Iraq and Syria.

"US military aggression against Iraq and Iraqi forces is direct evidence of US terrorism, [Tehran] condemns it”, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Monday.

“With these attacks, the United States has shown its strong support for terrorism and disregard for the sovereignty of countries, and must accept responsibility for the consequences of this unlawful act”.

He called on Washington to stop interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs and "cease its occupation presence” in the country.

The airstrikes hit three Kataib Hezbollah military facilities near the town of Qaim, Iraq, as well as two targets in Syria, in response to the group’s alleged bombing of an Iraqi military base, the Pentagon announced on Sunday.

The strikes have already been strongly condemned by Baghdad. The Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported that President Barham Salih decried the strikes as unacceptable and damaging for the country. Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf, spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, described the US attacks as a “dangerous aggravation which endangers the security of Iraq and the region,” Iraqi media reported.

Kataib Hezbollah is an Iraqi paramilitary group, but is financially supported by Iran. Washington accused the group of carrying out a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in Kirkuk on Friday, which killed an American contractor and wounded several US troops.

Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabi’i told local media that Tehran denies any role in the recent attack on US forces in Iraq.

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