Boris Johnson condemns missile attacks on US military bases

As tension escalates between the United States of America and Iraq, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson today condemned he attack by Iran on military bases in Iraq housing western troops in retaliation for the U.S. killing of an Iranian general. He was addressing the first Prime Minister's Questions since Parliament returned from its Christmas recess.

"We of course condemn the attack on Iraqi military bases hosting coalition forces. Iran should not repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks but must instead pursue urgent de-escalation," Johnson told parliament.

Earlier in the day, more than a dozen missiles launched from Iran struck two air bases in Irbil and Al Asad, west of Baghdad. The Iranian strikes on the bases marked the first time in recent years that Iran has directly attacked U.S. positions rather than through proxies in the region.


General Qassem Soleimani, 62, the head of Iran's elite al-Quds force and architect of its regional security apparatus, was killed when a drone fired missiles into a convoy that was leaving the Baghdad International Airport.

He was widely seen as the second most powerful figure in Iran behind the Ayatollah Khamenei. His Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, reported directly to the Ayatollah and he was hailed as a heroic national figure. Iran has pledged retaliation.