Trump to Nation: No Americans Harmed in Iran Missile Attack

In an address to the nation from the White House today, President Donald Trump announced that no American or Iraqi forces were killed in the Iranian ballistic missile attack on U.S. and Iraqi forces on January 7.

“No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime,” Trump said. “All of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained.”

The President also announced that “Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.”

Iran’s missile attack, which included over a dozen ballistic missiles launched from within Iran at American military targets in Irbil and at Ain al-Asad airbase, was in response to a U.S. drone strike that resulted in the death of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani was the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force and considered to be the most powerful person in the country next to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The President credited an early warning system that worked “very well” for allowing U.S. and Iraqi forces to avoid the missile barrage. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi also received a message from Iran indicating that an attack was imminent, his spokesman said in a statement.

Trump had previously announced that the U.S. military has identified 52 sites in Iran that could be targeted if Iran responded to the Soleimani attack. At the time of this report, there are no indications that there will be a military response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack, but Trump announced “additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime” in his address.