US Embassy Attack in Iraq Blamed on Iran-Backed Militias as Trump Vows Revenge

As New Year’s Day 2020 began to peek its head around the globe, a terrifying story was emerging in the Middle East.

The US embassy in Iraq is under siege by throngs of violent protesters, with gunfire and large-scale fires breaking out en masse.  The demonstration was a repercussion of two previous events: A rocket attack by the aforementioned Iran-backed militia that killed an American contractor and wounded several US soldiers, followed by an airborne US retaliation that saw the demise of over two dozen of these violent actors.

President Trump and others are now calling out the perpetrators by name.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday blamed Iran for planning an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and promised to hold Tehran “fully responsible.”

“Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will,” the president wrote on Twitter. “Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible.”

“In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!” he added.

There was little doubt as to where these protesters stood, politically.

The Iraqi supporters, many dressed in military apparel, pushed into the compound using cars to break through its gate. The protesters hung a poster on the wall saying, “America is an aggressor.”

Though the mob stopped short of entering the main building of the compound, many shouted “Down, Down, USA!” and flung water and rocks over the embassy walls. About 30 Iraqi soldiers in armored vehicles arrived near the embassy hours after the violence, according to an Associated Press report.

Iran has had a tumultuous relationship with the United States for some time, and almost incurred the wrath of a US airstrike just months ago after downing an American military drone over the Strait of Hormuz.