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NATO,others condemn Iran missile attack

NATO,others condemn Iran missile attack

NATO,others condemn Iran missile attack

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has condemned what he called Iran’s “reckless and dangerous” missile attacks on bases in Iraq used by U.S. troops, and he called for “urgent de-escalation“ by Tehran and Washington.

Johnson also said Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander killed in a U.S. airstrike last week, “had the blood of British troops on his hands.”

Britain’s main opposition Labour Party has suggested the U.S. may have broken international law by killing Soleimani.

Johnson told British lawmakers on Wednesday that “the strict issue of legality is not for the U.K. to determine since it was not our operation. But I think most reasonable people would accept that the United States has the right to protect its bases and its personnel.“

The Trump administration alleges that Soleimani had been plotting new attacks just before he was killed.

Iraq’s presidency has condemned Iranian missile strikes on two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. troops, reiterating its rejection of breaches of Iraq’s sovereignty.

Barham Saleh’s office also said in a statement that the fate of U.S. troops in Iraq is an internal matter based on legal agreements to combat the Islamic State group.

The statement adds that Iraq “has previously declared its refusal to be a starting point for aggression against any country, and also refuses to be a source of threat to any of its neighbors.“

The Iraqi prime minister has publicly said U.S. troops must leave after a drone strike killed Iran’s top military commander in Baghdad, and parliament has passed a non-binding resolution pushing for withdrawal.

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has condemned Iran’s missile strike against U.S. forces in Iraq, while a NATO official says there were no casualties among the military alliance’s personnel in the country.

In a message to The Associated Press, the NATO official who was not authorized to speak publicly said they were “keeping the situation under close review.”

Meanwhile, in a message posted on Twitter, Stoltenberg urged Iran to refrain from further violence.

NATO last week said it had suspended a training mission for Iraqi soldiers after the U.S. killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Stoltenberg said allies remain committed to the training mission in Iraq.

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