Missiles fired from Iran strike northern Iraq near U.S. consulate, officials say

A dozen missiles fired from Iran struck the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on Sunday, landing near the U.S. consulate and complicating efforts by the Biden administration to reach a nuclear deal with Tehran.

A U.S. defense official told The Associated Press there were no American casualties from the attack, and that the missiles had been launched from inside Iranian territory.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps claimed responsibility for the attack, suggesting it targeted U.S. and Israeli forces inside “the strategic center of the Zionist conspiracies in Erbil.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi condemned the attack.

“The aggression which targeted the dear city of Irbil and spread fear amongst its inhabitants is an attack on the security of our people,” he tweeted.

Iraqi security officials and the Kurdish regional government were investigating the incident and the damage it caused.

Kurdistan24, a TV station located near the U.S. consulate, went on air from its studio shortly after the attack, showing shattered glass and debris, AP reported.