No Deaths Reported After Iran Fired Missiles at U.S. Military Bases in Iraq

At around 5:30 p.m. EST, Iran fired 20 ballistic missiles toward two American military bases in Iraq. Their attack came in retaliation to the U.S. killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week. The attack was not a complete shock because Iran had said they would revenge the death of their beloved military leader, and they kept their word. Thankfully, no one was killed in the attack. 

Soon after the attack, media reports said some U.S. military lives were lost, while others said that Iraqi troops stationed there might have been killed, but this morning neither statement seems to be true. That is something that perhaps Iranians intended to do because this attack clearly shows they want American troops out of Iraq. 

“Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense.” Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, tweeted. “We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.”

That response came around the same time that President Donald Trump tweeted, “All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well-equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.”

The situation is still clearly very tenuous, and the President has yet to make a formal statement to the public about last night’s attack or the next course of action. 

But to make matters even more fragile and shocking, a Ukraine commercial plane that took off from Iran and was headed to Kyiv crashed soon after its departure in Tehran around 6:12 a.m. local time. There were 176 people on board, including the crew, and all sadly perished. The BBC reports that the passengers were from Iran and Canada.

Authorities are saying terrorism was not involved and blamed the crash on technical difficulties. Officials said they would also hand over the black box to gather more information about what went wrong. 

The combination of the missile attack from Iran and this plane crash in the same country and everything else going on in the world right now definitely puts people on high alert.  

“Yo WTF! January 7, 2020, is already a historic day. There’s WAAAAY too much happening today,” one woman tweeted. “Missile attack’s, plane crash with NO survivors, an EARTHQUAKE in Iran, an earthquake In Puerto Rico, Australia is literally burning. Prayers up, man. This day was too much.”