President Donald Trump warned Iran on Tuesday that it would be held responsible for the militia attacks in Iraq.
“We strongly responded, and always will,” Trump said. “Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible.”
Protesters broke into the United States embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday after a series of United States airstrikes killed 25 fighters of Iran-backed militia in Iraq.
The airstrikes were launched Saturday on five militia sites in response to a rocket attack on Friday that killed an American contractor and wounded several American troops.
The militia group Kata’ib Hezbollah is backed by Iran and continues to attack sites in Iraq, putting American troops in danger.
The Department of Defense sent F-15 Strike Eagles to bomb the sites, which were described as ether command and control centers or weapons caches.
“I would note also that we will take additional actions as necessary to ensure that we act in our own self-defense and we deter further bad behavior from militia groups or from Iran,” Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters on Saturday, detailing the strikes.
Trump urged Iraq to defend the United States embassy, as the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad and other staff have evacuated from the embassy. “In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!” he wrote.
The president also spoke to the people of Iraq, urging them to step up and take control of their country.
“To those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don’t want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time!” he wrote.