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Western powers condemn Iran attack targeting US troops Paris, Jan 8 (AFP) Jan 08, 2020 Western powers on Wednesday condemned Iran's missile attack on Iraqi bases housing US and other foreign troops, urging an end to the escalating crisis. Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles in the early hours of Wednesday, officials in Washington and Tehran said. Iran said it was responding to the US killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani last week, warning it would hit back even harder if Washington responded.
He would be making a statement on Wednesday morning, he added.
A NATO official said none of its troops in Iraq had been hurt in the strikes.
"Anyone who attacks us will receive a resounding blow," he warned.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab warned that another war in the Middle East would only benefit the Islamic State group "and other terrorist groups".
"It is in no-one's interest to turn up the spiral of violence even further," he added, warning that the crisis was hampering the fight against Islamic State. EU foreign ministers will hold emergency talks on the Iran crisis Friday to discuss what the bloc can do to reduce tensions.
"France remains determined to work to ease tensions and is in contact with all the parties to encourage restraint and responsibility."
Iran had told premier Adel Abdel Mahdi that "the strike would be limited to where the US military was located in Iraq without specifying the locations", said the statement from his office. "Iraq rejects any violation of its sovereignty and attacks on its territory," the premier's office added.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said it was banning US-registered carriers from flying over Iraq, Iran and the Gulf. Its Russian counterpart, the Federal Air Transport Agency, recommended airlines avoid the air space over Iran, Iraq and the Persian and Oman Gulfs.
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