US condemns Iranian missile strikes on Kurdistan Region; will send missile defense systems

"We are in consultation with the Iraqi government and the government in Iraqi Kurdistan, in part to help them get the missile defense capabilities to be able to defend themselves in their cities."
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Feb. 11, 2022 (Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Feb. 11, 2022 (Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, speaking on the Sunday talk show, Face the Nation, condemned the Iranian missile strikes on Erbil earlier that day and pledged to send missile defense capabilities to the region.

“We are in consultation with the Iraqi government and the government in Iraqi Kurdistan, in part to help them get the missile defense capabilities to be able to defend themselves in their cities,” he said.

In addition, Sullivan and State Department Spokesperson Ned Price issued statements on Sunday, condemning the Iranian missile strikes.

Their statements followed the strong condemnation from the US ambassador to Iraq, Matthew Tueller. 

“The United States condemns, in the strongest terms, Iran’s missile attack on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” Sullivan’s statement began, affirming that the attack was “without any justification.”

“The United States stands with Prime Minister Kadhimi and the leaders of the Kurdistan Region, President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani,” Sullivan continued, and “we will support the Government of Iraq in holding Iran accountable.”

Ned Price spoke similarly, denouncing the Iranian strikes as “an outrageous violation of Iraq’s sovereignty” and calling on Iran to “immediately cease its attacks, respect Iraqi sovereignty, and halt its interference in Iraq’s internal affairs.”

Baghdad has yet to form a new government, following the Iraqi elections last October. Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Shi’a party that gained the most seats, and Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdish party that gained the most seats, are coordinating in an effort to marginalize the pro-Iranian parties, as they work to establish the next Iraqi government.

On Sunday, the Washington Post suggested that may have been a factor in the Iranian missile strike: a warning to Sadr and Barzani not to exclude Tehran’s proteges.

In a further expression of US support, Sullivan held separate telephone conversations on Sunday with Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraqi Prime Minister.

As Barzani tweeted, “We agreed it [was] a brazen violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.”

Barzani also emphasized the “need to counter” the “fabricated set of false narratives” that Tehran has used to attack Erbil.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed credit for the missile attack, asserting that it targeted “a strategic center of Zionists,” as it also warned, “the criminal Zionist regime that the repetition of any evil act will draw harsh, decisive and devastating responses.”

Russia has given Israel a great deal of freedom to attack Iranian targets in Syria. For that reason, Israel has taken an ambiguous stance toward Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Last Monday, an Israeli airstrike near Damascus killed two IRGC officers, and Tehran then vowed revenge.

Of course, there is no Israeli “strategic center” in Erbil, and in a show of political support, Muqtada al-Sadr agreed with Masoud Barzani to form a fact-finding committee to investigate the charge of an Israeli presence in Erbil. 

Read More: Fact-finding committee will be formed to investigate alleged ‘Israeli’ offices in Erbil

The outcome of these armed exchanges remains to be seen. Clearly, there is the prospect of further ballistic missile attacks on the Kurdistan Region in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Iranian targets in Syria. 

However, if the Kurdistan Region had proper missile defenses, the risks would be much less significant, irrespective of Israeli actions in Syria.