Donald Trump claims Iran ‘planning sneak attack on US troops’ in Iraq
DONALD Trump has claimed Iran is planning a "sneak attack" on US troops in Iraq insisting the Islamic Republic "will pay a very heavy price".
The President issued the dramatic warning on Twitter a few months after Tehran launched a series of ballistic missile assaults on military bases in neighbouring Iraq.
Mr Trump tweeted: "Upon information and belief, Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on U.S. troops and/or assets in Iraq.
"If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!"
The President's tweet came shortly after he attended a White House intelligence briefing at 12 noon today.
Washington's relationship with Tehran has deteriorated significantly since Trump took office.
The Republican firebrand pulled the US out of the controversial nuclear deal, brokered by Barack Obama, which lifted economic restrictions on Iran while prohibiting its fundamentalist regime from enriching uranium.
'SNEAK ATTACK'
Then on New Year's Eve last year, Iran-backed protesters attacked the US embassy in Baghdad, clashing with US forces at the scene.
This prompted Trump to sanction the assassination of Iran's top military general Qasem Soleimani who the Pentagon claimed was behind the embassy assault.
The US also claimed Soleimani was "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region".
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In early January, Iran fired rockets at two bases in Iraq housing troops - days after the general's death.
Ten of the ballistic missiles struck the Al Asad Airbase in Iraq, one hit the town of Erbil, and four others were unsuccessful in hitting their targets, according to a US official.
Last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran had refused US aid to help fight the coronavirus outbreak in the country which has so far killed over 3,000 people.
US and Iran - a troubled history
- Before the 1979 Iranian revolution, Iran was one of America's biggest allies in the Middle East and was led by the US-backed Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
- However, since the seismic revolt, Iran has been led by murderous Islamic fundamentalists and tensions with Washington have remained ever since.
- On November 4, 1979, the Iranian regime took 52 US diplomats hostage in response to President Carter’s administration allowing Iran’s deposed former leader into America.
- The hostage crisis lasted for 444 days and also included a failed rescue mission which cost the lives of eight US soldiers.
- In April 1980, the US ended diplomatic relations with Iran – a break which lasted for more than 30 years.
- In April 1983, Washington blamed the Iranian-funded terror group Hezbollah for carrying out a bombing attack on the American embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
- The assault, carried out amid a brutal civil war in Lebanon, killed 17 Americans.
- In November of that year, two truck bombs in Beirut killed 241 US peace keepers. The US again blamed Hezbollah for the incident.
- The Clinton White House, in 1995, placed a total embargo on Iran meaning US companies could not trade with the country.
- And in 2002, George W Bush included the Islamic Republic in his famous “Axis of evil” speech along with North Korea and Iraq.
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