NewsletterMiddle East & North Africa

Tehran’s ‘Rocket Diplomacy’ Could Snowball Into a Regional Conflict

Posters of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone attack January 2020, are seen in front of three ballistic missiles on display in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 7, 2022. Iran put (AP photo by Vahid Salemi).
Posters of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone attack January 2020, are seen in front of three ballistic missiles on display in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 7, 2022. Iran put (AP photo by Vahid Salemi).

A dozen ballistic missiles struck Iraq’s northern city of Erbil on Sunday, with some reports suggesting that several landed near the U.S. consulate building in the city. The missile attack left residents of the city terrified, with many posting videos online showing several large explosions and some saying that the blasts shook their homes. Amid speculation of Iranian involvement, the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps quickly claimed responsibility for the missile strike. This latest round of what some observers describe as Iran’s “messaging by missile” marks a dangerous escalation in the Middle East. Iran has built up a long track record […]

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