Iranian Missile Strike Targets Area Surrounding United States Consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan

Shahin are Iranian surface-to-air missiles. - (Wikimedia Commons)

Iran fired twelve missiles at Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, on March 13. Some landed in the area surrounding the United States consulate. Although Iran-backed Shi'ite Islamist militias have regularly attacked U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, the strike was the first official Iranian attack directed toward U.S. assets since Iran retaliated for the American strike on Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020.  

According to U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, no U.S. facilities were damaged in the attack and no U.S. personnel were harmed. U.S. officials stated that there was no evidence the consulate was explicitly the target of the attack. Meanwhile, local Kurdish authorities reported that the strike resulted in no casualties and only one injury but did damage numerous surrounding structures. This includes the headquarters of the local news organization Kurdistan 24 and a farm belonging to the CEO of the Iraqi Kurdish oil company KAR group, Sheikh Baz Karim Barznji. 

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) claimed responsibility for that attack, stating it targeted “the Zionists' strategic center of plotting and evil” in Erbil. Analysis by Iraqi security forces of the missiles used in the attack corroborated the origin of the missiles as Iranian-made. The IRGC elaborated on the motivation for the strike, justifying it as retaliation for Israel’s “recent crimes,” alluding to an Israeli air raid in Syria that killed two of the IRGC’s senior officers on March 7. The IRGC also threatened that "Any repetition of attacks by Israel will be met with a harsh, decisive and destructive response.” Erbil’s governor, Omid Khoshnow, denied the presence of any Israeli facilities in the area when speaking to the press on March 13. The Israeli Military and Prime Minister declined to comment on the attack. 

The Kurdistan Region's Council of Ministers accused Iran of intentionally targeting a civilian area on March 13, stating that “This cowardly attack on Erbil... allegedly under the pretext of hitting an Israeli base near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, targeted civilian locations and its justification is only to hide the disgracefulness of such offense." The Council has implored the international community to end its “silence…in the face of these cowardly attacks.” 

Other Iraqi Kurdish officials also suggested that the true purpose of the attacks was a ploy to divide the Kurdish community and strengthen pro-Iranian factions in Iraq’s government. The Iraqi parliament is currently in the process of forming the next government with a bloc headed by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr holding the most seats. Crucial to his political bid is the support of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), which Iran seeks to divide from al-Sadr as they allow his bloc to forgo an alliance with pro-Iranian factions. 

In a tweet less than two hours after the attack, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi stated that “The aggression which targeted the dear city of Erbil and spread fear amongst its inhabitants is an attack on the security of our people,” and that Iraqi “security forces will investigate and stand firm against any threats towards our people.” Later, he called the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad in contempt. 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the U.S. Department of State called the attack “outrageous” and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Matthew Tueller, demanded Iran “be held accountable for this flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty and for terrorist attacks on innocent civilians properties." 

The French foreign ministry condemned the attack as well, and reaffirmed France's “commitment to Iraq’s sovereignty, as well as its stability and that of the autonomous region of Kurdistan within it.” The ministry called the strike “irresponsible and dangerous” for jeopardizing progress made on the return to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iranian nuclear deal, which was nearing completion before it stalled due to last-minute Russian demands and as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took diplomatic precedence.