Iran has claimed responsibility for a missile barrage that struck yesterday near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, saying it was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard.
No injuries were reported in the attack, which marked a significant escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said on its website that it launched the attack against an Israeli “strategic center of conspiracy” in Irbil. It did not elaborate, but in a statement said Israel had itself been on the offensive, citing the recent strike that killed two Revolutionary Guards.
Earlier, a U.S. defense official and Iraqi security officials said the strike was launched from neighboring Iran.
One Iraqi official in Baghdad initially said several missiles had hit the U.S. consulate in Irbil and that it was the target of the attack.
