'Russia, China and Iran are now all testing Biden': US base in Iraq city of Erbil under rocket fire

Explosion of the East

The city of Erbil in northern Iraq came under fire from rocket attack on the night of 12 March. It was launched, as reported by TASS with reference to the Associated Press, from the territory of Iran. From 12 to 15 Iranian-made ballistic missiles were fired, according to various sources.

The target of the attack was the US Consulate in Erbil. The rockets exploded in the area of the US diplomatic mission building under construction, it was not damaged, said the head of Kurdistan Regional Government Department of Foreign Relations. Other facilities of the US government, according to the State Department, were also not affected, no damage or casualties. They reported that they condemn “this outrageous attack and manifestation of violence”.

According to other sources, rocket attacks on the capital of the northern Kurdish region of Iraq were aimed at “secret Israeli bases”.

It is known that the missiles hit the building where the office of the Kurdistan-24 TV channel is located. In both cases, there are no victims or injured.

At the moment, local security forces are investigating the fact of the shelling. The leadership of the region calls the incident a terrorist attack.

American politician George Papadopoulos said that the attacks were made for a reason.

“Russia, China AND Iran are now all testing [US President Joe] Biden," he twitted.

A message to Washington and its allies

This has been far not the first attack on Erbil. Just last year, the city's airport was twice subjected to rocket fire and attack using drones packed with explosives — in June and September, respectively. Responsibility for previous attacks has previously been attributed to Iranian-backed Iraqi militias. The “green zone” of the Iraqi capital Baghdad is also regularly shelled. There are government offices and embassies, as well as the international airport, which is adjacent to a military airfield. In June 2021, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi ordered the creation of special committees to stop such incidents in this zone.

Iran's relations with the United States and its allies worsened after Tehran and Washington withdrew from the “nuclear deal” — Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — in 2019. According to open sources, Iran is supported by Russia, Syria, North Korea and China.

At the end of 2019 — the beginning of 2020, Iran fired on several American bases. A year later, missile attacks were repeated a week after the American airstrike on Iran's allies in Syria.

However, that night shelling within the framework of a new type of deployed cognitive world war and against the background of Russia's unprecedented military special operation in Ukraine caused a huge resonance in the world. Obviously, Iran has sent a clear message to the West: it is unlikely that it will be possible to safely replace the supply of Russian energy resources from the East.

Realnoe Vremya follows the events.