Iran on Wednesday said it had carried out and "concluded" its reprisal over the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani when it targeted US forces in Iraq with a missile strike.

"Iran took and concluded proportionate measures in self-defence" targeting a base from which a "cowardly armed attack against our citizens and senior officials" was launched, said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Twitter.

"We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression."

Iran fired 'more than a dozen' missiles at US forces in Iraq: Pentagon
Washington (AFP) Jan 8, 2020 - Iran fired "more than a dozen" ballistic missiles Tuesday against two airbases in Iraq where US and coalition forces are based, the Pentagon said.

"At approximately 5.30 pm (2230 GMT) on January 7, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against US military and coalition forces in Iraq," Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.

"It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil."

There were no immediate reports of casualties at the bases.

The attacks came after pro-Tehran factions in Iraq had vowed to "respond" to a US drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad last week.

The White House said in a separate statement that President Donald Trump was "monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team."

Local security sources told AFP earlier that at least nine rockets had slammed into the Ain al-Asad airbase, the largest of the Iraqi military compounds where foreign troops are based.

Iran claimed responsibility, with state TV saying the Islamic republic had launched missiles on the base.

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi military network, was killed in the US drone strike alongside Soleiman, seen as the "godfather" of Tehran's proxy network across the region.

Hoffman said the Pentagon was working on initial battle damage assessments following Tuesday's airbase attacks.

"In recent days and in response to Iranian threats and actions, the Department of Defense has taken all appropriate measures to safeguard our personnel and partners," he added.

"These bases have been on high alert due to indications that the Iranian regime planned to attack our forces and interests in the region."

Hoffman added that the US would take "all necessary measures to protect and defend US personnel, partners, and allies in the region."

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, said the US "must ensure the safety of our service members, including ending needless provocations from the Administration and demanding that Iran cease its violence."

"America and world cannot afford war," she added.

Her Democratic House colleague Eliot Engel, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN however the attacks "could very well" mean that the US was at war.

"The president and his crew had better figure out a way to... tone down everything because we could be in the middle of a full-fledged war, and I don't think that is something anybody wants," he said.

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'Never threaten Iran,' Iran president tells Trump
Tehran (AFP) Jan 6, 2020
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday warned his American counterpart Donald Trump to "never threaten the Iranian nation", after he issued a US strike list of 52 targets in the Islamic republic. "Those who refer to the number 52 should also remember the number 290. #IR655 Never threaten the Iranian nation," he tweeted, referring to 290 lives lost in July 1988 when a US warship shot down passenger plane Iran Air 655 in the Gulf. Trump warned Saturday that Washington had lined up 52 targets i ... read more