US claims downing Iranian drone in Iraq

The US forces on Wednesday claimed downing of an Iranian drone that officials said appeared poised to attack American troops in Iraq.

It was claimed that the downing came as the Iranian military started a drone bombing campaign targeting the bases of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq, attacks that have killed at least nine people and wounded 32 others, according to the Kurdish Regional Government’s Health Ministry. 

The bombings follow Iraqi and Iranian Kurds protesting in Iraq’s northern city of Erbil over the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died in the custody of Iran’s morality police. 

“US Central Command condemns the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ unprovoked attack in Iraq’s Erbil Governorate this morning. Such indiscriminate attacks threaten innocent civilians and risk the hard-fought stability of the region,” command spokesman Joe Buccino said in a statement. 

In the midst of the bombing campaign, US forces brought down an Iranian Mojer-6 unmanned aerial vehicle “headed in the direction of Erbil as it appeared as a threat to CENTCOM forces in the area,” according to Buccino. 

He noted that no US forces were wounded or killed, no US equipment was damaged as a result of the strikes and that Central Command forces are assessing the situation. 

US and coalition troops are based in Iraq to advise and assist its military to counter ISIS militants and keep the terrorist group from resurging in the region. 

The US government has condemned the strikes, with national security adviser Jake Sullivan stating Wednesday that Washington stands with Iraq’s leaders in the Kurdistan region and Baghdad in condemning these attacks as an assault on the sovereignty of Iraq and its people.

“Iranian leaders continue to demonstrate flagrant disregard not only for the lives of their own people, but also for their neighbors and the core principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity enshrined in the UN Charter,” Sullivan said. “Iran cannot deflect blame from its internal problems and the legitimate grievances of its population with attacks across its borders.”

Iraq’s Foreign Ministry and the Kurdistan Regional Government have also condemned the attacks.

 

 

Why is west critical of Iranian regime?

It is suspected that the recent protests being staged in Iran are funded from outside. The propagators have two objectives: 1) create unrest in Iran and 2) portray that the present regime of clerics is autocratic.

One completely fails to understand, if rules of a country do not allow certain attire or certain conduct, why should the west support the rebel group/groups?

In my view these rebel groups are created, provided funds and given excessive coverage by the western news agencies, which is often an attempt to create ‘a storm in a teacup.   

The latest round of mass protests in Iran erupted over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman. Allegedly, she died on September16 at the hands of the morality police for violating Iran’s rules on mandatory veiling in public.

According to the Western media, Amini’s tragic death is yet another reminder of how the Islamist rulers in Tehran remain tone-deaf to the demands of the Iranian people. Opposition to mandatory wearing of the veil, or hijab, is one in a long list of public grievances.

It is being portrayed that the conditions that led to Amini’s death were not accidental. It is part and parcel of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s attitude toward any political dissent.

The western media accuses that he continues to believe that violent repression will drive protesters to retreat. But his policy choices are only deepening public anger against the Islamic Republic. Not only is Khamenei inciting the Iranian people against the regime, but his insistence on mandatory hijab-wearing is splitting the Islamic clerical class.

Western media goes to the extent of saying that Khamenei engineered for Ebrahim Raisi to become Iran’s president in sham elections held in June 2021. Once in office, Raisi was supposed to focus on creating jobs, building new housing, and tackling corruption.

None of these promises have been kept. Instead, the Raisi government has allocated additional funds to the country’s security forces to more strictly enforce Iran’s mandatory hijab law. There are reports that Iran is now looking to introduce Chinese-style mass electronic surveillance of the public.

Why focus on enforcing such a highly unpopular policy? In Khamenei’s mind, compromising with the Iranian people in one area will only result in a cascade of demands for change in others, from domestic to foreign policy. That’s why Khamenei, from the top, has given orders to crack down on the anti-hijab movement.