WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st January, 2020) US President Donald Trump said Happy New Year while threatening to make Iran pay a heavy price after protesters attacked the American embassy in Baghdad in response to strikes on Shia militia.
Iraqi protesters on Tuesday set on fire the outside fence of the US Embassy in the capital of Baghdad in response to American airstrikes against Iraqi Shia Kata'ib Hezbollah militia, a Sputnik correspondent reported. US officials were quick to immediately claim that Iran had orchestrated the demonstration.
On Sunday, the Pentagon said it had carried out "defensive strikes" against five Kata'ib Hezbollah facilities in Iraq and Syria in retaliation against the group's attack on a US base near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk that left one US defense contractor dead and four American soldiers wounded on Friday.
"Protesters set on fire the outside fence of the US embassy in Baghdad after 100 of them gathered near the embassy's external gate in the Green Zone," the correspondent said.
Warning sirens sounded at the US embassy, and the Green Zone entrances and exits were closed amid mass protests, a source from the Green Zone told Sputnik.
Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces' press office said more than 20 protesters were injured at mass rallies near the US embassy,
A State Department spokesperson told Sputnik later in the day that there are no plans to evacuate the mission despite attacks by protesters.
"US personnel are secure and there has been no breach. There are no plans to evacuate Embassy Baghdad," the spokesman said.
The spokesperson also pointed out that US Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller was to return to the mission from a previously scheduled personal travel.
After the attacks, the State Department said Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and President Barham Salih assured Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that US forces and property in Iraq would be protected.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi urged protesters on Tuesday to end the violent siege of the American embassy in Baghdad, which was triggered by a deadly US strike on a Shiite militia.
The Iraqi prime minister called on the protesters to leave immediately and stressed that aggression against embassies was an act that the country's security forces would not tolerate, according to the foreign ministry.
The US military responded swiftly by re-deploying marine units from Kuwait to Iraq to control the situation.
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in a statement that additional troops would be sent to protect embassy personnel while later in the day the military said marines had arrived on the ground.
"We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens, military personnel and diplomats in country, and to ensure our right of self-defense," Esper said. "We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy."
Esper also urged the Iraqi authorities to ensure the safety of the diplomatic mission.
"As in all countries, we rely on host nation forces to assist in the protection of our personnel in country, and we call on the Government of Iraq to fulfill its international responsibilities to do so," he said.
Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday dismissed "empty" accusations coming out of Washington about Iran allegedly orchestrating attacks on the US embassy in Iraq. The ministry also called on Washington to reject its "destructive policies" in the middle East.
Trump boasted that US forces quelled the uprising and contrasted his approach with that of political rival Hillary Clinton's handling of the siege on US facilities in Benghazi in 2012. Hillary Clinton served as US Secretary of State during the Obama administration.
"The US Embassy in Iraq is, & has been for hours, SAFE!" Trump said in a Twitter post on Tuesday. "Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!"
He added that many American troops together with "the most lethal military equipment in the world" had been immediately rushed to the site.
Trump also thanked Iraqi leaders for their "rapid response." Earlier, the White House in a statement said Trump during a call pressed Iraq's prime minister to protect the American embassy.
Trump supporters claimed that the president acted appropriately to protect US personnel while Clinton failed to save American lives during a siege on diplomatic facilities in Libya.
"The Anti-Benghazi!" Trump tweeted near early evening on Tuesday.
The 2012 terrorist attack in the Libyan port city of Benghazi killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Critics alleged that Clinton failed to adequately respond to the crisis when she was secretary of state.
On Monday, Iraq's Security Council said it was "reconsidering" its relationship with the US-led coalition after the strikes on Shia targets.
