Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged that "Iran-backed militias" were responsible for a recent attack on the Baghdad Green Zone, which houses the US Embassy complex. The Islamic Republic and its allies vocally denied the claims, with Tehran suggesting the timing of the attack was "very suspicious."
Iran "will openly and directly defend its people, security and vital interests" amid the US military buildup near its borders, and has received intelligence from Iraq of a "plot to fabricate [a] pretext for war," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has announced.
"Instead of fighting Covid in [the] US, @realDonaldTrump and cohorts waste billions to fly B-52s and send armadas to our region," the Iranian top diplomat added.
Zarif did not provide any further details about the evidence Iran had received. He previously taunted US President Donald Trump for posting a photo of unidentified rockets the US claimed pointed to Iran's responsibility for the 20 December rocket attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad, suggesting Trump was using "a worthless photo to recklessly accuse Iran," and recalling the "last time" the US "ruined" the Middle East with the invasion of Iraq on a false pretext.
The 107mm rockets posted by Trump bore English-language markings, prompting speculation about their origins.
