Iran denies role in US embassy violence, warns against retaliation

US President Donald Trump says that Iran will pay a very big price

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Iran denied it was behind violent protests at the United States embassy in Iraq on Tuesday and warned against any retaliation, after President Donald Trump blamed Tehran for an attack on the mission and said it would be held responsible.

“American officials have the astounding audacity of attributing to Iran the protests of the Iraqi people against (Washington’s) savage killing

PHOTO: REUTERS

of at least 25 Iraqis ...,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi said in a statement carried on a ministry website.

Protesters voiced their anger over US air strikes on militia bases in Iraq and Syria, hurled stones and torched a security post at the US Embassy in Baghdad.



“Mousavi denied the American officials’ charges against our country, cautioned against any ill-advised reaction or miscalculation by United States officials, and called on the White House to reconsider its destructive policies in the region,” the statement said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said in a Twitter post: “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the US Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible.”

Later Trump tweeted: “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.”