"Upon information and belief, Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on US troops and/or assets in Iraq,” claimed the American commander-in-chief on Twitter. "If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed."
Such baseless claims are made while Iran is in a battle with the coronavirus pandemic despite Washington’s illegal sanctions which it refused to lift and is keeping up with the so-called “maximum pressure” on the Iranian nation amid their fight with the globally spreading coronavirus.
The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against 20 companies on Thursday, claiming that they provided support for Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and the IRGC's Quds Force, as well as Iraq's Kata'ib Hezbollah, a pro-government resistance group, and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq movement, a subdivision of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).
Tehran has time and again asserted that US threats and allegations are baseless and that it stands ready to defend its interests in the region.
An unnamed US intelligence official also talked to Reuters about the alleged “attack,” without disclosing its timing or precise locations.
The spokesman of the Iranian foreign ministry on Wednesday called for the US to stop seeking unrest and instability in the Middle East and pull out its military forces from Iraq.
"While the UN General Secretary and the international bodies urge all warmongering and unrest-seeking measures to be halted due to coronavirus outbreak, US' moves is in violation of what Iraqi government, parliament and nation want. Such behaviors can bring instability into the region and end in a catastrophic situation," he said.
MNA/PR