Ahmet Gürhan Kartal
January 08, 2020•Update: January 08, 2020
LONDON
The U.K. on Wednesday condemned the Iranian ballistic missile attacks on military bases in Iraq.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the attacks as "reckless and dangerous" and he called for "urgent de-escalation" in the crisis between the U.S. and Iran.
Responding to questions at the House of Commons in a weekly session, Johnson said no British personnel were injured during last night's attacks by Iran.
He said the U.K. is doing "everything we can" to protect its interests in the region.
Johnson said Iran’s Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq’s capital last week, was involved in various acts, including arming Houthis and Hezbollah and supporting the Assad regime in Syria as well as orchestrating attacks on British troops.
Soleimani had "the blood of British troops on his hands," the prime minister added.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn asked Jonson about his view on the “legality” of "killing somebody in a foreign territory", and said the U.S. act of killing Soleimani "should be condemned as such" by the British government.
Johnson said the "strict issue of legality is not for the U.K. to determine as it wasn't our operation".
"Most reasonable people would accept the U.S. has a right to protect its bases and personnel," he added.
Johnson also said the non-essential British personnel have been transferred to Taji from Baghdad.
Earlier Wednesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq.
The missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases where U.S. military and coalition personnel are stationed in response to the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
