Iranian launches missiles near US consulate in Iraq

 

    A barrage of missiles hit in northern Iraq with Iran claiming responsibility for its actions. The US consulate sat nearby and caused alarm to many in the area with missiles hitting some residential areas. The attack was in retaliation from an Israeli strike that occurred in Syria that had killed members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. "Iran's powerful Revolution Guard said on its website that it attacked what it described as an Israeli spy center in Erbil" (AP News). There were no injuries reported luckily but this marks an escalation of conflict between Iran and the US. Iraq is a sovereign country but being both allies of Iran and the US puts pressure on Iraq as a place of tension between the two countries. White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan stated, " We will support the Government of Iraq in holding Iran accountable, and ...The United States of America stands behind the full sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq"(AP News). The last time Iran has directly fired missiles into Iraq was after U.S. forces used drone strikes to kill General Qassem Soleimani. The resulting missile strikes hit a U.S. base which resulted in multiple U.S. troops suffering with brain damage. America has been recently trying to create a new nuclear containment deal with Iran to limit research and use of dangerous missiles. In 2018, President Trump had pulled the U.S. out of the Iranian nuclear accord which caused many surrounding countries to grow worried. The deal to create a new treaty between the two countries seems to have taken a turn with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the U.S.'s supply of military equipment to the Ukraine military. 

    This event seems to have gone unnoticed by most of the world with more obvious events like Russia's invasion of Ukraine with has dominated the new for now multiple weeks. I feel that keeping peace in the Middle East is really important to the world similar to peacefully stopping Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Iran getting nuclear weapons would become an extremely dangerous situation that would lead to all sorts of horrible outcomes in the Middle East. A deal set up by Obama in 2015 and later taken away by Trump had created a nuclear deal that limited Iran's nuclear program from continuing the creation of nuclear weapons. Iran's history with nuclear missiles has been long and complicated with all large countries and the UN putting pressure to stop the creation of these missiles. One of the most interesting stories was one about a computer virus called Stuxnet that was created by the US and Israel which would mess with Iran's nuclear plants by damaging computer systems. Its use on a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz resulted in the destruction of 1,000 of Iran's 6,000 centrifuges (Washington Post). Overall, this attack shows an increase in tensions around the Middle East on top of the horrible situation in Ukraine.

What could be the impacts of such attacks on the US and Iraq?

Do you think that war with Iran could be possible and what should be done to avoid it?

Should nuclear deals with Iran be one of the U.S.'s priorities?

Sources:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/irans-revolutionary-guard-claims-missile-attack-raising-tensions-11647173230

https://apnews.com/article/iran-missile-attack-erbil-iraq-us-consulate-7a4ea6281fe6191a4e4b640c58c7fd49

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/12/irbil-attack-iraq/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/stuxnet-was-work-of-us-and-israeli-experts-officials-say/2012/06/01/gJQAlnEy6U_story.html

https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Timeline-of-Nuclear-Diplomacy-With-Iran