Short Url Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Tehran suddenly feels liberated to embark on its own escalations targeted at the US, Iran's opponents in Iraq, and perhaps Israel. No fewer than 12 ballistic missiles were unleashed on Sunday against sites near the US Consulate in Irbil. Usually, Tehran stages such provocations via its proxies to add a flimsy dimension of plausible deniability. That such a large attack was launched from Iran itself demonstrates new levels of brazenness. Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said this aggression against Irbil was an attack against Iraqi national security, and President Barham Saleh denounced it as a 'terrorist crime' designed to undermine recent political rapprochement.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2041836

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