Chronicle Editor
Fears of imminent war between Iran and the United States have sparked following the United States’s assassination of Iran’s top military commander Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport on January 3.
In retaliation, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at the Ain al-Assad airbase in Iraq’s Anbar province and a military facility in Erbil on Wednesday.
Hours later, a Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 bound for Kyiv crashed minutes after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, adding to the tension.
Canadian, US and UK officials have said intelligence indicated that an Iranian missile brought down the airliner, a conclusion dismissed by Iran.
“All these reports are a psychological warfare against Iran,” Iranian state TV quoted government spokesman Ali Rabiei in a statement.
Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir has condemned Wednesday’s missile attacks by Iran.
“We take issue with the violation of Iraq’s sovereignty by Iran,” al-Jubeir said yesterday during a news conference in Prague where he was on a routine diplomatic visit.
Al-Jubeir reiterated the Saudi position, supporting the US’ right to defend itself but called for calm in the region.
“We believe that there should be a way to avoid escalation because we believe escalation would be damaging to all parties and not just one or the other,” he added.
Al-Jubeir also made reference to the Iranian nuclear deal, saying it is flawed in its current form and that it should be amended.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has told the US secretary of state to send a delegation to Iraq tasked with formulating the mechanism for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, according to a statement.
In a phone call on Thursday night the Iraqi leader requested US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism to carry out the parliament’s resolution regarding the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq,” the statement said.
“The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements,” the statement added.
Iraqi legislators passed a non-binding resolution to remove US troops following the US strike last Friday.
European Union foreign ministers are set for a rare emergency meeting yesterday afternoon, hoping to guide the US and Iran away from confrontation. — Al Jazeera
Londile Moyo
Online Reporter