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U.S. Blames Iran For Attacks In Iraq, They Both Have A History Of Targeting Each Other’s Diplomats

The U.S. has officially blamed Iran for recent attacks near Washington's diplomatic presence in Iraq, where the two powers have competed for influence in the latest venue of a decades-long feud sparked by an embassy hostage crisis. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Wednesday that "Iran is the origin of the current threat to Americans in […]

Tom O'Conner writes for Newsweek:

The U.S. has officially blamed Iran for recent attacks near Washington's diplomatic presence in Iraq, where the two powers have competed for influence in the latest venue of a decades-long feud sparked by an embassy hostage crisis.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Wednesday that "Iran is the origin of the current threat to Americans in Iraq" and was "to blame for the attacks against our mission in Basra and our embassy in Baghdad," adding that his department's "intelligence in this regard is solid." Iran has the support of a number of semi-official Shiite Muslim militias across Iraq, and Pompeo cited "repeated incidents of indirect fire from elements of those militias" against the two U.S. sites in a Friday statement announcing the closure of the consulate general in the southern city of Basra.

Iran, whose own consulate general in Basra was burned down last month, has rejected these charges. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Qasemi said Saturday that "the ridiculous justification [provided by Americans] for the closure of the U.S. Consulate General in Basra, which came after weeks of propaganda and false allegations against Iran and the Iraqi forces, is a suspicious move aimed at evading responsibility and pinning the blame on others responsibility and pinning the blame on others."