Iran Says it Had Warned Iraq Many Times About Threats

Interior view of a house that was damaged during missile attacks in Erbil, Iraq March 13, 2022. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
Interior view of a house that was damaged during missile attacks in Erbil, Iraq March 13, 2022. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
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Iran Says it Had Warned Iraq Many Times About Threats

Interior view of a house that was damaged during missile attacks in Erbil, Iraq March 13, 2022. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
Interior view of a house that was damaged during missile attacks in Erbil, Iraq March 13, 2022. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

Tehran had warned Iraqi authorities many times that its territory should not be used by third parties to conduct attacks against Iran, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday.

He was speaking one day after Iran attacked Iraq's northern city of Erbil with a dozen ballistic missiles in an unprecedented assault on the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region that appeared to target the United States and its allies.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for the missile assault.

Iranian state media said the Revolutionary Guards Corps had launched the attack against Israeli "strategic centers" in Erbil, suggesting it was revenge for recent Israeli air strikes that killed Iranian military personnel in Syria.

The Iraqi Kurdish regional government said the attack only targeted civilian residential areas, not sites belonging to foreign countries, and called on the international community to carry out an investigation.

Sunday's attack came as talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal face the prospect of collapse after a last-minute Russian demand forced world powers to pause negotiations for an undetermined time despite having a largely completed text.



Italy Says No US Extradition Request for Detained Iranian Businessman So Far

A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)
A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)
TT

Italy Says No US Extradition Request for Detained Iranian Businessman So Far

A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)
A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)

The United States has not submitted any formal request of extradition for an Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini detained in Milan, Italy's justice minister said in an interview published on Thursday.
"The matter of Abedini is purely legal ... regardless of the (freeing of Italian journalist) Cecilia Sala. It is premature to talk of extradition, also because no formal request has been sent to our ministry so far," Justice Minister Carlo Nordio told daily La Stampa.
Abedini is wanted by the United States on suspicion of involvement in a drone strike against US forces in Jordan. Iran has denied involvement and said last week the detention of the Iranian national amounted to hostage-taking.
His arrest has been linked to the detention three days later of Italian reporter Cecilia Sala, who was seized in Tehran on Dec. 19 while working under a regular journalistic visa and freed on Jan. 8.