Tehran considers the US attacks in Syria and Iraq an act of terrorism, and demands the United States to leave the region, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Monday.
"US military aggression against Iraq and Iraqi forces is direct evidence of US terrorism, (Tehran) condemns it”, Mousavi said.
He demanded the United States to stop interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq, and also indicated that the presence of foreign troops in the region only leads to an escalation of tensions. In this regard, Mousavi demanded that the United States "cease its occupation presence”.
Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Monday that Tehran was not behind the attack on US troops in Iraq, which Washington retaliated with strikes in Iraq and Syria.
"We deny any sort of role or involvement on the attacks on the US military," Rabiei said.
The Pentagon said earlier that the United States had attacked five targets of the Kata'ib Hezbollah movement in Iraq and Syria "in response to repeated attacks on Iraqi bases”. The defence department explained that these actions were taken as a response to attacks by the movement on an Iraqi base near Kirkuk, which led to the death of a US citizen and injuries to four American troops. The Pentagon noted that these attacks are aimed at reducing the ability of the group to conduct "attacks in the future" against coalition forces.
Earlier, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said that the United States was ready to take additional measures to deter Iran and hostile militia to ensure the country's self-defence.
