But Iran warned the US against further attacks after it launched more
than a dozen ballistic missiles at the Ain al-Assad airbase in Iraq's
Anbar province and a military facility in Erbil on Wednesday.
Iran had pledged retaliatory attacks against the US for last week's
killing of Qassem Soleimani, the country's most powerful and revered
military leader, whom Washington accused of plotting imminent attacks
against US forces in the region.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned
the United States it risked a "dangerous response" if the White House
tried any further interventions in the region.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran now "appears to be
standing down" but Rouhani threatened more retaliatory moves if
required.
"If the US makes another mistake it will receive a very dangerous
response," Rouhani was quoted as saying by Iran's Tasnim news agency
during a call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
"The Americans and the White House have no understanding of the region
and recognised what a mistake they have made after their terrorist
measure and following the uprising of regional nations and the unity
that was created."A senior Iranian commander said Iran's missile attacks
on US targets in Iraq did not aim to kill American soldiers but sought
to damage Washington's "military machine" and were the start of a series
of attacks across the region, state television reported.
Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force,
also said the "appropriate revenge" for the US killing of Soleimani was
to expel US forces from the Middle East, state TV said.
He also said Iran had hundreds of missiles at the ready and when Tehran
launched missiles on Wednesday it had used "cyber attacks to disable
[US] plane and drone navigation systems".Saudi Arabia condemned Iran's
attacks on Iraqi bases hosting US forces as a "violation of Iraqi
sovereignty", Saudi state TV reported.
"The kingdom denounces and condemns the Iranian violations of Iraqi
sovereignty," said a statement carried by the official SPA news
agency."Saudi Arabia calls on all parties to exercises self-restraint,"
it added.
The Saudi condemnation was the first by an Arab neighbour of Iraq.In a
letter to the UN following the missile attack, Iran said it fully
respects the sovereignty of its neighbour Iraq.Turkey does not want Iraq
to become a battle zone among foreign forces, said Turkey's foreign
minister.
"We don't want Iraq to be the battle zone of the foreign forces," Mevlut
Cavusoglu told a press conference along with his Iraqi counterpart in
Baghdad, Iraqi capital.Cavusoglu's visit was part of Turkey's diplomatic
efforts to "alleviate the escalated tension" in the region, a foreign
ministry statement said.Iraq's top diplomat Mohamed Ali al-Hakim
affirmed that talks with his Turkish counterpart focused on the need to
respect Iraq's sovereignty from all sides.
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