US, Iran Appear to Avoid Military Conflict
2020-01-09
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1American President Donald Trump says the United States did not have to necessarily answer Iran's attack on American bases in Iraq.
2Speaking at the White House Wednesday, Trump said, "No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime... All of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases."
3The president added, "Our great American forces are prepared for anything.
4Iran appears to be standing down." Trump also said that the U.S. will place more economic sanctions on Iran.
5Trump's comment came after Iran fired 15 missiles at two airbases that house U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
6U.S. military officials said al-Asad and Erbil were targeted early on Wednesday.
7The missile attacks were in answer to the U.S. killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week in Iraq.
8Iranian government media said the attacks killed 80 "American terrorists" and damaged U.S. helicopters and military equipment.
9Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the attacks a "slap on the face" of the U.S. and said American troops should leave the area.
10Iran's foreign minister said the country's attacks were in self-defense and that Iran did not seek to increase hostilities.
11The Associated Press reported that Iran appeared to have warned about the strikes.
12Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said Iran told him that the missile attacks "would start soon" and would target only on U.S. positions.
13The militaries of Finland and Lithuania also said they received information about a coming attack and had time to move to shelters or leave the base.
14Henry Rome is an Iran expert with Eurasia Group.
15 He told the AP the attacks appeared designed to avoid human injury and any increase in hostilities.
16"For a president who wants to avoid a war in the Middle East during an election year, the Iranians have provided an off-ramp he will likely take," Rome said.
17Trump, who is facing reelection in November, has repeatedly said he wants to keep the U.S. from involving itself in "endless war."
18Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have increased since Trump's 2018 decision to withdraw the U.S. from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers.
19Last year, Iran shot down a U.S. military drone, seized several oil tankers and interfered with international ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
20The U.S. also blamed Iran for a September missile attack on a large Saudi Arabian oil processing center.
21Recently, a large group of protesters attacked the outer edge of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
22The embassy attack followed U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 Kataeb Hezbollah fighters, an Iranian-supported militia which operates in Iraq and Syria.
23The U.S. said it acted to answer the killing of an American defense contractor in Iraq.
24Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke to the Iranian cabinet after the strikes on American bases.
25He said, "if America commits a crime, no matter how much she threatens us, she must know that we will act decisively as we have already shown."
26I'm Ashley Thompson.
1American President Donald Trump says the United States did not have to necessarily answer Iran's attack on American bases in Iraq. 2Speaking at the White House Wednesday, Trump said, "No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime... All of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases." 3The president added, "Our great American forces are prepared for anything. Iran appears to be standing down." Trump also said that the U.S. will place more economic sanctions on Iran. 4Iran fired missiles at U.S. airbases 5Trump's comment came after Iran fired 15 missiles at two airbases that house U.S. soldiers in Iraq. U.S. military officials said al-Asad and Erbil were targeted early on Wednesday. 6The missile attacks were in answer to the U.S. killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week in Iraq. 7Iranian government media said the attacks killed 80 "American terrorists" and damaged U.S. helicopters and military equipment. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the attacks a "slap on the face" of the U.S. and said American troops should leave the area. 8Iran's foreign minister said the country's attacks were in self-defense and that Iran did not seek to increase hostilities. 9The Associated Press reported that Iran appeared to have warned about the strikes. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said Iran told him that the missile attacks "would start soon" and would target only on U.S. positions. The militaries of Finland and Lithuania also said they received information about a coming attack and had time to move to shelters or leave the base. 10Henry Rome is an Iran expert with Eurasia Group. He told the AP the attacks appeared designed to avoid human injury and any increase in hostilities. 11"For a president who wants to avoid a war in the Middle East during an election year, the Iranians have provided an off-ramp he will likely take," Rome said. Trump, who is facing reelection in November, has repeatedly said he wants to keep the U.S. from involving itself in "endless war." 12Tensions between U.S. and Iran 13Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have increased since Trump's 2018 decision to withdraw the U.S. from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers. 14Last year, Iran shot down a U.S. military drone, seized several oil tankers and interfered with international ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. also blamed Iran for a September missile attack on a large Saudi Arabian oil processing center. 15Recently, a large group of protesters attacked the outer edge of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The embassy attack followed U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 Kataeb Hezbollah fighters, an Iranian-supported militia which operates in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. said it acted to answer the killing of an American defense contractor in Iraq. 16Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke to the Iranian cabinet after the strikes on American bases. He said, "if America commits a crime, no matter how much she threatens us, she must know that we will act decisively as we have already shown." 17I'm Ashley Thompson. 18Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on reports from AP, Reuters and other sources. Caty Weaver was the editor. 19Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. 20_____________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22regime - n. a form of government 23minimal - adj. very small in amount 24sustain - v. to deal with or experience 25stand down - phrasal verb, to leave a position 26slap - v. to hit someone or something with an open hand 27off-ramp - n. a short road that is used to slow down or leave 28commit - v. to do something that is illegal or harmful