Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that no Americans or Iraqis were killed when Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against US military and coalition forces in Iraq on Wednesday morning.

“No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. All of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases,” said Trump, adding that US forces are “prepared for anything.”

Trump said Iran appears to be standing down following the attack that came after pro-Tehran factions in Iraq vowed to join forces to “respond” to an American drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi top commander Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes in Baghdad last week.

Killing of Qassem Soleimani
Trump addressed the killing of Soleimani saying it was under his direction that the US military “eliminated the world’s top terrrorist,” adding that Soleimani was planning new attacks on American targets before his death.

Trump said Soleimani “orchestrated” the recent attacks on US personnel in Iraq that killed a US civilian contractor.

“Soleimani’s hands were drenched in both American and Iranian blood,” Trump said, adding that Soleimani should have been eliminated “long ago.”

New sanctions
Trump announced new additional economic sanctions on Iran that will be imposed immediately.

“These powerful sanctions will remain until Iran changes its behavior,” said Trump, citing the maligned behavior of seizing ships in the Arabian Gulf, attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, and the Iranian regime recently killing over 1,500 of its people in protests across the country.

Trump blasted the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as “very defective” and said Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism.

Trump called on the UK, France, Russia, Germany, and China to “break away from the remnants of the Iran deal.”

He said he was going to ask international military alliance NATO to become “much more involved in the Middle East process.”

*Al Arabiya