Iran attacks bases housing US troops

By Meg Wagner, Ivana Kottasová, Mike Hayes, Veronica Rocha and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN

Updated 2:31 AM ET, Thu January 9, 2020
87 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
9:32 p.m. ET, January 8, 2020

Top Iraqi Shia cleric calls for his militias to stand down

From CNN's Mitchell McCluskey and Salma Abdelaziz

Iraq’s leading Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for his militias to stand down on Wednesday night, following President Trump’s address in which he urged for de-escalation in the region. 

“This crisis is over, especially after Trump's speech and the Islamic Republic's speech,” al-Sadr said in a statement posted on Twitter. 

On Jan. 3, al-Sadr ordered his previously dismantled militia, the Mehdi Army, to regroup to “protect Iraq” after the death of Qasem Soleimani. In his statement on Wednesday, al-Sadr asked his militias not to take action. 

“I call on the Iraqi factions to be patient, not to start military action, and to silence the voice of militancy from some of the disciples until all political, parliamentary and international methods are exhausted,” al-Sadr said.

8:46 p.m. ET, January 8, 2020

What Iranians think of the missile attacks

From CNN's Claudia Otto and Ramin Mostaghim

Iranian missiles are shown at Tehran's Islamic Revolution and Holy Defence museum.
Iranian missiles are shown at Tehran's Islamic Revolution and Holy Defence museum. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

On a bitterly cold day in Tehran, ordinary Iranians told CNN of their fears that the missile strikes on US military targets in Iraq might lead to all-out war between America and Iran.

Teacher and interpreter Shahram Mashaoodi said he and others were “worried about the reaction” to the strikes on the al-Asad Airbase and another military site in Erbil.

“I heard the Supreme Leader mentioned it was a slap in the face [for the US]. I think it could be enough,” he told CNN, standing on a street in a middle class suburb of the Iranian capital.

“I hope war won’t break out,” he added, explaining that, “If it would be solved in a diplomatic way, I think it would be better because I think after all the people will bear the burden and suffer.”

But Mashaoodi said he doubted the Iranian attacks would be enough to force US troops out of Iraq.

“They should leave but they won’t,” he said. “They have spent millions of dollars making sites, military bases — a lot of money. I think they are going to take advantage. They never leave Iraq without achieving their goals.” 

Art teacher Solmaz Ghaznavi, who lived through the Iran-Iraq war as a child, said she was worried about the impact of any Iran-US conflict on the nation’s children. 

“Generally speaking, I’m against any war no matter who starts,” she told CNN.

Saba Vosough, an oil engineering student, said he too was against war, but he seemed doubtful whether conflict could be avoided altogether.

“I, personally, am against war because the people suffer first,” he said. “Either it’s all-out war, or minor war. If we hit two, they will hit back four. It won’t remain without response.”

Accountancy student Rojan Parvnia said despite their differences, citizens of the US and Iran have one thing in common: “Even American people say, ‘No war.’ They don’t want war, the same way that Iranians do not want war either."

7:46 p.m. ET, January 8, 2020

Why some senators were irate about the Iran briefing

From CNN's Jim Acosta

A GOP source familiar with the Senate briefing explained why Republican Sen. Mike Lee and other lawmakers came out of the intel briefing with administration officials feeling pretty irate about what they heard.

The source said the attitude coming from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others in the room was “don’t second guess this move” and “don’t do anything to question us.” But the source said that’s not exactly what the administration officials were saying.

“I don’t think that goes over well in the Senate,” the source said.
7:23 p.m. ET, January 8, 2020

Global hacking attempts originating in Iran nearly triple following Soleimani strike, internet security researchers say

From CNN's Brian Fung

Hackers looking to breach US computer networks sharply intensified their efforts following the death of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, but have had limited success, according to internet security researchers and state government officials.

Soon after the strike that killed Soleimani, Iran-based attempts to hack federal, state and local government websites jumped 50% — and then continued to accelerate, said the network security company Cloudflare. 

Over the course of 48 hours, attacks traced to Iranian IP addresses nearly tripled against targets around the world, Cloudflare said, peaking at half a billion attempts per day. 

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince called the increase “statistically significant” in an interview with CNN. He added that the true number of attempts was likely higher, given that the company has a limited view of the wider internet.

"That would be very atypical to happen on its own,” Prince said of the spike. "That, I think, you can safely correlate directly to the death of the Iranian general.”

Even as malicious activity increased from within Iran, attacks originating from other countries also grew, Prince said. That could indicate sophisticated Iranian attackers masking their true locations, said Prince, or it could suggest that non-Iranian hackers are taking advantage of a chaotic situation.

7:22 p.m. ET, January 8, 2020

GOP senator rails against Iran briefing: "There was no specific information given to us of a specific attack"

CNN
CNN

Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that Congress was only presented with “generalities” in their briefing from national security officials today about the motive behind the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

“There was no specific information given to us of a specific attack. I didn’t learn anything in the hearing that I hadn’t seen in a newspaper already. None of it was overwhelming that X was going to happen," he said.

Paul insisted that he still likes President Trump but said that no one person should determine whether the country goes to war.

“It’s a tug of war and Congress should assert themselves and say, ‘The war-making power was given to us,'” he said.

In response to comments from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham who questioned Paul and Sen. Mike Lee’s patriotism for backing the Iran War Powers resolution, Paul called it a “gutter type of response.”

“He hasn’t even read history of the Constitution. The Constitution specifically says that the war-making power resides with Congress. He believes in this unitary theory of the executive that presidents can do whatever they want, the only way you can stop them is by defunding a war. That’s not what the Founding Fathers said, it’s not what the Constitution says and he insults the Constitution, the Founding Fathers and what we do stand for in this republic by making light of that and accusing people of lacking patriotism. I think that’s a low, gutter-type response," Paul said.

 

 

7:04 p.m. ET, January 8, 2020

Mike Pence: "We are safer today" after Soleimani strike

From CNN's  Allie Malloy 

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Vice President Mike Pence just appeared on CBS Evening News to declare that the US is “safer today” than before the strike to kill Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

Pence also claimed that the US has received “some encouraging intelligence” that Iran is sending messages to militias not to move against American targets or civilians.

“We had received intelligence over the previous several days that there may be attacks coming. We heard the threats. The world heard the threats from Iran. We moved forces, we provided the level of force protection at the President’s direction. In a very real sense, we had the early warning systems that allowed us to move Americans and our allies out of harm’s way," Pence said when asked about whether the US was warned in advance of Tuesday’s attack.

Pence added: “I believe we are safer today than before President Trump ordered our military to take out Qasem Soleimani. This was a man who had been leading a terrorist state sponsored organization in the region sowing violence."

"We have a President who is also willing to use American military might to protect American lives," he said.

 

6:57 p.m. ET, January 8, 2020

"No coalition casualties or damage to facilities" after rockets land in Baghdad's Green Zone

From CNN's Ryan Browne

The US-led coalition fighting ISIS confirmed that there were “no coalition casualties or damage to facilities" after two rockets landed near the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad.

Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III said the "small rockets impacted near Baghdad’s International Zone."

Earlier tonight: The Iraqi joint military command told CNN two Katyusha rockets landed inside Baghdad's Green Zone. The CNN team in Baghdad heard sirens from inside the Green Zone and heard two explosions.

Read the tweet below:

6:39 p.m. ET, January 8, 2020

US defense secretary pushes back on lawmakers slamming intel briefing on Soleimani

From CNN's Ryan Browne

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper pushed back at lawmakers who slammed the Trump administration intelligence briefing today saying, “most Members of Congress do not have access to the intelligence that I think was the most compelling.”  

Esper said the intelligence is "restricted to the Gang of Eight,” a group of top congressional leaders who are generally privy to sensitive information that the rest of Congress is not always briefed on.

Some more context: On Tuesday, Esper said that the “exquisite intelligence” on the threat posed by Qasem Soleimani that drove the US military to target him in a drone strike will only be shared with the Gang of Eight, saying “most Members (of Congress) will not have access to that.”

6:34 p.m. ET, January 8, 2020

Two GOP senators announce support for Iran War Powers resolution

From CNN's Manu Raju, Phil Mattingly and Jeremy Herb

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky announced today that they would support a War Powers resolution sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, which would limit President Trump's ability to use military force in Iran.

"I think the President's instincts on trying to show restraint and keep us out of war are good. I frankly think he will not escalate things. However, the debate is bigger than just this debate. The debate is a 70-year-old debate that began in 1950 with Korea and Truman. This is a debate, and many have written that Congress has abdicated their duty. Today ... Sen. Lee and I stepping up and saying we are not abdicating our duty. Our duty under the Constitution is for us to debate when we go to war, and we, for one, are not going to abdicate that duty," Paul told reporters.

The senators also slammed Wednesday's classified briefing on the strike that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. Lee said after the briefing that it was the "worst briefing I've had on a military issue" during his nine years in the Senate.

What we know about Kaine's resolution: Kaine told CNN on Wednesday that he hopes to see action on it in the Senate as soon as next week, although the timeline may be complicated by the impending impeachment trial.

As a privileged resolution, Kaine will be able to force a vote on the bill without support from Republican leaders.

Both the House and Senate versions of the bill invoke the War Powers Act, otherwise known as the War Powers Resolution of 1973.

The War Powers Resolution stipulates parameters of presidential and congressional war powers, including imposing procedural requirements to ensure that presidents keep Congress apprised of military decisions as well as provisions that provide Congress with a mechanism to suspend military operations initiated by the President in certain circumstances.