US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iranian missile strikes on bases in Iraq did not harm any US troops stationed there and damage was minimal, an outcome he said showed Tehran wanted to de-escalate a standoff.
Iran "appears to be standing down", Trump said at the White House amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran over the US killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq last week.
Trump announced the US would immediately impose new "powerful" sanctions until "Iran changes its behaviour".
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The comments were Trump's first televised remarks since Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops. Trump also said there were no Iraqi casualties.
"The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it. We do not want to use it. American strength, both military and economic, is the best deterrent," Trump said in a speech that struck a noticeably different tone than his tweets following the attack on Soleimani in which he threatened to "fully strike back" if Iran attacked any US citizen or site.
Iran said Wednesday's attacks against an Iraqi base in Erbil and the Ain al-Asad base in western Iraq were revenge for the killing of Soleimani. It warned the US against retaliating for the strikes.
Pieces of missiles are seen at the rural area of Al-Baghdadi town after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, a facility jointly operated by U.S. and Ir
Pieces of missiles are seen at the rural area of Al-Baghdadi town after Iran targeted Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, which hosted US troops [Al-Baghdadi township/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images]
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei said Iran's attacks were a "slap on the face" of the US and said US troops should leave the region.
Tehran's foreign minister said Iran took "proportionate measures" in self-defence and did not seek an escalation.
Under pressure
The fallout for Trump's order to kill Soleimani had been swift.
Iran vowed harsh revenge. Iraq's Parliament voted to expel US troops from Iraq, which would undermine efforts to fight ISIL (ISIS) in the region and would strengthen Iran's influence in the Middle East. And regional and world leaders called for de-escalation
The counterattack by Iran came as Trump and his top advisers were under pressure to disclose more details about the intelligence that led the US president to order the US strike that killed Soleimani. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi), an Iran-backed umbrella organisation comprising several militias, was also killed in last week's strike.
Iran - US map
Top Senate Democrats, citing “deep concern” about the lack of information coming from the Trump administration about the Iran operation, called on Defense Department officials to provide “regular briefings and documents” to Congress. The full Senate and House are expected to receive separate classified briefings later on Wednesday.
Trump and top national security officials have justified the air strike with general statements about the threat posed by Soleimani, who US officials said was planning an "imminent attack".
But details have been scarce.
Trump on Wednesday said the US will continue to look at options to respond to the attacks, but did not elaborate. He said he will ask NATO "to become much more involved" in the Middle East.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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NEWS/IRAN
Ukraine does not rule out attack as cause of plane crash in Iran
All on board Ukrainian International jet from Tehran were killed in crash, which came amid heightened US-Iran tensions.
08 Jan 2020 18:55 GMT
Rescue teams recover debris from a field after the crash of the Ukrainian plane shortly after take off from Tehran [AFP]
Rescue teams recover debris from a field after the crash of the Ukrainian plane shortly after take off from Tehran [AFP]
Ukrainian authorities are not ruling out that its plane, which crashed early on Wednesday in Iran killing all 176 passengers and crew on board, was downed by a missile or an attack amid a sharp escalation of tension between Tehran and Washington.
The Ukrainian International airliner bound for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, plunged from the sky minutes after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran.
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The Boeing 737-800 was last seen on radar at 2,400 metres, according to the FlightRadar 24 monitoring website, hours after Tehran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at US facilities in neighbouring Iraq.
"We must investigate all possible causes," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook, shortly after Iranian officials said the crash was caused by a fire that struck one of the plane's engines, causing the pilots to lose control.
Zelenskyy has ordered Ukrainian prosecutors to open an investigation into the crash.
Shortly before Zelenskyy's announcement, Ukraine's embassy in Iran removed a statement that ruled out the attacks from its website, Ukrainian media reported.
The Ukrainian UNIAN news agency quoted the Jordanian Al Hadath news outlet as claiming that the plane had been shot down by Iranian air force by mistake.
"Until the official investigation is over, naming any version would be manipulation," Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk told a news conference in response to a question about the possibility of a missile or attack on the plane.
He said a group of experts were heading to Iran to investigate the crash, collect victims' remains and return them to Ukraine.
"We're getting the group ready for departure," he said.
According to international agreements, Ukraine can participate in the investigation as the state of registry and operator.
Iranian officials said the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, known as "black boxes," have been found. Their examination will be crucial in establishing the cause of the crash.
Meanwhile, Ukraine International airline said the three-year-old plane underwent a maintenance check on Monday and no technical problems were identified.
"It was one of our best airplanes with a great, reliable crew," the company's CEO Yevhen Dykhne told a news conference in Kyiv through tears.
His colleague claimed that flight conditions at the Tehran airport were complicated.
"Knowing that the Tehran airport is not an easy one, our flight training for all crews on [Boeing] 737s were held exclusively at the Tehran airport," Ihor Sosnovsky, the airline's vice president, told reporters.
Considering that the plane was 2,400 metres above ground before it disappeared off radar, crew error "was unlikely", Dykhne said.
He refused to comment on whether the plane was shot down by a missile.
Chief pilot Volodymir Haponenko had flown more than 10,000 hours during hundreds of flights, he said.
"Aviation was his life, he was a great pilot," his widow Yekaterina Haponenko, a mother of two, said in televised remarks.
Eleven Ukrainian nationals, including nine crew, were among the victims, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said.
He said that 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians were on board along with 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons.
Meanwhile, officials in Tehran said 147 of the victims were Iranian, which suggests 65 of the passengers had dual citizenship.
Boeing's 737-800 planes will face international scrutiny after the crash.
In December, Boeing's CEO Dennis Muilenburg was removed after one of the company's most disastrous years. Two 737 Max planes crashed in 2018, and all Max planes worldwide have been grounded.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS
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