Iran Guards say missiles did not aim to kill US troops

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Sunday they did not aim to kill US troops when firing a wave of missiles last week at Iraqi bases hosting American forces.

"Our aim was not really to kill enemy soldiers. That was not important," the Guards' commander, Hossein Salami, told parliament, referring to Wednesday's missile operation launched to avenge the killing of a top Iranian general.

"The physical destruction (caused by the missiles) was just because we wanted to say that we are so much more superior to the enemy (and) that we can hit any point we choose," he added, in a speech aired on state television.

Iran launched a wave of missiles at bases in Iraq hosting American and other foreign troops on Wednesday.

The US said no American personnel were harmed in those missile attacks on Iraqi soil.

The Iranian operation was carried out in response to the killing of Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Guards' Quds Force, in a January 3 US drone strike near Baghdad airport.

Hours after launching the missiles on Wednesday, Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane soon after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard in what it later admitted was a catastrophic error.

The Guards' aerospace commander General Amirali Hajizadeh accepted full responsibility for the downing of the Boeing 737 on Saturday.

Salami was briefing the Iranian parliament about the incidents in a closed session on Sunday after being ordered to testify by President Hassan Rouhani.

Iran has invited experts from Canada, France, Ukraine and the United States to take part in the investigation into the air disaster.

"We didn't touch anything," Salami told deputies.

"We didn't move the wreckage of the aircraft, we didn't change the scene, we didn't move the air defence system, and we didn't (alter) the radar readings," he said.

bur/mj/dv/dwo

BOEING

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Iran agrees de-escalation 'only solution' to solve crisis with US
Tehran (AFP) Jan 12, 2020
Iran signalled Sunday it favours a de-escalation after 10 days of heightened tensions with the United States during which both sides fired missiles and Tehran accidentally shot down a passenger aircraft. Security was stepped up in Iran's capital after a vigil the previous night for those killed in the air disaster turned into an angry protest and police temporarily arrested the British ambassador for being there. US President Donald Trump warned Iran against harming demonstrators and against a ... read more