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White House Reportedly Asked For Options On Iran Strike Last Year
January 13, 2019
President Donald Trump's national security team asked the Pentagon last autumn for possible options to strike Iran in response to an attack on an area in Baghdad where the U.S. Embassy is located, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper, citing current and former U.S. officials, reported on January 13 that the National Security Council raised concern at both the Pentagon and the State Department with its request.
The request came in response to a September 7, 2018, attack where militants aligned with Iran fired three mortars inside Baghdad's Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy is housed.
The shells failed to hit any target and there were no casualties.
The Pentagon did as asked, but the newspaper did not say whether the White House was given options for a strike, nor whether Trump directly knew about it.
The mortar attack was the first such incident in several years in the Iraqi capital's Green Zone.
Tehran called the accusations implicating it in the attacks "astonishing, provocative, and irresponsible."
Based on reporting by The Wall Street Journal
Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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