Reports had been circulating that Iran was planning a castigatory strike on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad should the United States take military action in Syria. Last week, a senior U.S. official suggested to CNN that the United States had sufficient evidence to prove that Iran “may be planning” such an attack. The official’s statement followed a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. had intercepted instructions from Iran to Iraqi militants to attack the embassy if a military strike did ensue. The State Department pointed out that no extra security measures had been taken at U.S. diplomatic posts in Iraq.
However, Iran’s foreign minister denied these reports on Sunday. According to the Iranian state-run news agency INSA, Mohammad-Javad Zarif stated: “Iran will take no action against its ally and brother – Iraq- and I believe all these allegations are there to justify any military strikes, which are a danger for those planning them. We should not beat on the drums of war in the region, since beating will only start a fire that would spread to all countries in the region. Those who insist on beginning a war are about to start a fire that will take over the entire region.”
