FM Katz: Iran made ‘grave mistake’ with attack on US embassy in Baghdad

Foreign Minister Israel Katz condemns the attack on the US embassy in Baghdad by pro-Iran demonstrators following American strikes on a militia backed by Tehran.

“Iran made a grave mistake by attempting to harm American diplomats in Iraq,” Katz writes on Twitter.

“We call on the international community to stand indeterminately against the crimes of the murderous regime in Tehran,” he adds.

The tweet from Katz comes after Iran-backed militia fighters and their backers withdrew from the embassy after two days of clashes with American security forces.

US President Donald Trump blamed Iran for the attack on the embassy and the Pentagon dispatched an infantry battalion of about 750 soldiers to the Middle East. A US official familiar with the decision says they will go to Kuwait.

Iran denied involvement in the attack on the embassy.

The US strikes on Kataeb Hezbollah, which killed 25 militiamen, was in response to a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in the northern city of Kirkuk last week that killed a US contractor.

— with AP