{"source_url": "https://theprint.in", "url": "https://theprint.in/world/trump-blames-iran-after-iraqi-militia-storms-us-embassy-in-baghdad-over-airstrikes/343274/", "title": "Trump blames Iran after Iraqi militia storms US embassy in Baghdad over airstrikes", "top_image": "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/U.S._Embassy_in_Baghdad_Iraq.png", "meta_img": "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/U.S._Embassy_in_Baghdad_Iraq.png", "images": ["https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/U.S._Embassy_in_Baghdad_Iraq-696x393.png", "https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1985006141711121&ev=PageView&noscript=1", "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/logo_800x149_transp-1-300x56.png", "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/logo_400_transp-300x56.png", "data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAANoAAACWAQMAAACCSQSPAAAAA1BMVEWurq51dlI4AAAAAXRSTlMmkutdmwAAABpJREFUWMPtwQENAAAAwiD7p7bHBwwAAAAg7RD+AAGXD7BoAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC", "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/U.S._Embassy_in_Baghdad_Iraq.png", "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ThePrint_logoAMP.jpg"], "movies": [], "text": "Text Size: A- A+\n\nDubai: Dozens of Iraqi militiamen and their supporters stormed the U.S. Embassy complex in Baghdad on Tuesday to protest deadly U.S. airstrikes against their Iranian-backed force, as President Donald Trump blamed Tehran.\n\nThe Pentagon dispatched two AH-64 Apache helicopters to fly over the embassy in a show of force, and about 100 Marines already in the region will be sent to the compound to reinforce its defenses, a U.S. official said.\n\n\u201cWe have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens, military personnel and diplomats in-country, and to ensure our right of self-defense,\u201d Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a statement.\n\nThe anti-American protesters remained outside the embassy compound into the night in Baghdad, as some set up tents suggesting they planned an extended sit-in, Al Jazeera reported.\n\nEarlier, guards lobbed tear gas and opened fire to quell the unrest, which was quickly contained, though dozens of protesters remained outside the compound. The U.S. ambassador had departed two days earlier, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn\u2019t authorized to speak publicly. The actual embassy building wasn\u2019t attacked, he said.\n\nTrump said in a tweet that Iran \u201cwill be held fully responsible\u201d for the embassy assault as well the killing of an American contractor in Iraq that precipitated Sunday\u2019s U.S. airstrikes against the Kataieb Hezbollah militia bases.\n\nIran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified! \u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019\n\nTrump followed up later with a tweet urging Iraqis to rise up against Iranian influence. \u201cTo those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don\u2019t want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time!\u201d he said.\n\nThe White House said Trump spoke with Iraq\u2019s outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi about regional security, and the president \u201cemphasized the need to protect United States personnel and facilities in Iraq.\u201d\n\nThe rare direct U.S. assault on an Iranian proxy on Sunday claimed the lives of 25 fighters and came at an especially tense time and held the potential for escalation. The U.S. and Iran are locked in a standoff over the Trump administration\u2019s crippling economic offensive against Tehran \u2014 meant to force it to renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal Washington abandoned \u2014 and the Islamic Republic\u2019s suspected reprisals.\n\nAbbas Mousavi, Iran\u2019s foreign ministry spokesman, condemned in a statement \u201cthe shocking insolence\u201d of U.S. officials who he said sought to blame his country for protests by Iraqis outraged over Americans \u201cslaughtering at least 25 Iraqi people.\u201d\n\nThe mob streamed into the embassy complex after climbing over blast walls and smashing down the outer gate and a guard post with hammers, according to televised footage. Black smoke billowed from tires the protesters set on fire. Dozens of protesters were hurt, some shot, others suffering from tear gas inhalation, according to a statement from the umbrella group to which Kataieb Hezbollah belongs.\n\nMost of the protesters wore militia uniforms. Some hoisted militia flags as the crowd demanded that the embassy be shuttered and the ambassador expelled. \u201cThe embassy is closed by the order of the people,\u201d someone scrawled on the blast walls. Other people spray-painted the word \u201cresistance\u201d on the barriers, and one protester was seen holding a headscarf with the image of Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.\n\nMahdi, the outgoing prime minister, reiterated his denunciation of the U.S. raid on Tuesday but called on protesters to leave the compound, threatening severe penalties for attacks on the mission. \u2013 Bloomberg\n\nAlso read: Islamic State is regrouping and getting stronger in Iraq again, claims report\n\nThePrint is now on Telegram. For the best reports & opinion on politics, governance and more, subscribe to ThePrint on Telegram.\n\nShow Full Article", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": [""], "tags": ["Bloomberg wire", "Donald Trump", "US", "Iraq"], "authors": ["Abbas Al Lawati", "Please Enter Your Name Here"], "publish_date": "Wed Jan  1 07:54:09 2020", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "US airstrikes on an Iranian proxy Sunday claimed the lives of 25 fighters. The assault came at a tense time and held the potential for escalation between US and Iran.", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/76x76.png", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0", "atdlayout": "article", "og": {"image": {"identifier": "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/U.S._Embassy_in_Baghdad_Iraq.png", "secure_url": "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/U.S._Embassy_in_Baghdad_Iraq.png", "width": 1200, "height": 677}, "locale": "en_US", "type": "article", "title": "Trump blames Iran after Iraqi militia storms US embassy in Baghdad over airstrikes", "description": "US airstrikes on an Iranian proxy Sunday claimed the lives of 25 fighters. The assault came at a tense time and held the potential for escalation between US and Iran.", "url": "https://theprint.in/world/trump-blames-iran-after-iraqi-militia-storms-us-embassy-in-baghdad-over-airstrikes/343274/", "site_name": "ThePrint"}, "description": "US airstrikes on an Iranian proxy Sunday claimed the lives of 25 fighters. The assault came at a tense time and held the potential for escalation between US and Iran.", "robots": "max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1", "article": {"publisher": "http://facebook.com/ThePrintIndia", "tag": "US", "section": "World", "published_time": "2020-01-01T07:54:09+00:00"}, "fb": {"app_id": 885510301622193, "pages": 1733495223546925}, "twitter": {"card": "summary_large_image", "description": "US airstrikes on an Iranian proxy Sunday claimed the lives of 25 fighters. The assault came at a tense time and held the potential for escalation between US and Iran.", "title": "Trump blames Iran after Iraqi militia storms US embassy in Baghdad over airstrikes", "site": "@ThePrintIndia", "image": "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/U.S._Embassy_in_Baghdad_Iraq.png", "creator": "@ThePrintIndia"}, "generator": "WordPress 5.3.1", "ia": {"markup_url": "https://theprint.in/world/trump-blames-iran-after-iraqi-militia-storms-us-embassy-in-baghdad-over-airstrikes/343274/?ia_markup=1"}, "msapplication-TileImage": "https://d2c7ipcroan06u.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/cropped-512x512-270x270.png"}, "canonical_link": "https://theprint.in/world/trump-blames-iran-after-iraqi-militia-storms-us-embassy-in-baghdad-over-airstrikes/343274/"}