Iraqi Foreign Ministry to Summon Iranian Ambassador Over Missile Attack on Military Facilities

Early on Wednesday morning, Iran launched approximately 35 missiles against US targets in Erbil, Iraq and the country's Ayn al-Asad Air Base, which houses US military forces.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it would summon Iranian ambassador to the country over the recent missile attacks.

"The foreign ministry rejects these attacks and considers them a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. It stresses that Iraq is an independent state and that its internal security is its priority. We will not allow it to become a battlefield," the ministry said in a statement.

On Wednesday morning, two series of airstrikes were launched by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeting US military facilities in Erbil and the Ayn al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, which houses American military personnel and coalition forces.

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called Tehran's actions "proportionate measures", while Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has branded the overnight missile attacks as a "slap" in Washington's face. The White House has not confirmed any American casualties following the attacks.

Commenting on the attacks, the office of Iraqi President Barham Saleh condemned the missile strikes, while saying in a statement that Iraq "has previously declared its refusal to be a starting point for aggression against any country, and also refuses to be a source of threat to any of its neighbours."