Kein US-Gegenschlag nach iranischem Angriff auf US-Basen in Irak (Nachtrag: WaPo)

Auf einem Raketenangriff Irans auf Militärbasen in Irak wollen die USA offensichtlich vorerst nicht militärisch reagieren. US-Präsident Donald Trump kündigte nach dem Angriff, bei dem keine Soldaten der USA und anderer Nationen der Anti-IS-Koalition verwundet wurden, weitere Sanktionen gegen Iran an – aber keinen Gegenschlag. Deutsche Soldaten blieben in der angegriffenen Basis in Erbil im Nordirak ebenfalls unverletzt.

Als Vergeltung für die Tötung eines iranischen Generals durch die USA hatte Iran in der Nacht zum (heutigen) Mittwoch Standorte von US-Truppen und Soldaten anderer Länder im Irak angegriffen. Bei den Raketenangriffen auf die Basen al-Asad im Zentralirak und Erbil im Norden des Landes kamen  keine Menschen zu Schaden, was auch Trump in seiner Ansprache bestätigte. Die in Erbil stationierten Bundeswehrsoldaten konnten aufgrund eines Hinweises rechtzeitig vor dem Einschlag Schutzräume aufsuchen: Sie waren  von ihren internationalen Partnern gewarnt worden. Die Rakete traf dann allerdings nicht das Camp.

Der US-Präsident hob in seiner Rede hervor, es sei einem Frühwarnsystem, dass sehr gut funktioniert hat zu verdanken, dass es bei dem Angriff mit Kurzstreckenraketen aus dem Iran keine Opfer gegeben habe. Allerdings hatte zuvor die irakische Regierung mitgeteilt, sie sei aus dem Iran vorab über den bevorstehenden Angriff informiert worden.

Die Basis al-Asad, auf die die meisten der iranischen Kurzstreckenraketen abgefeuert wurden, war im Dezember 2018 Ziel eines Besuchs von US-Präsident Donald Trump gewesen  – ein Indiz dafür, dass es dem Iran bei der Reaktion auf den tödlichen Angrif vor wenigen Tagen auf den Kommandeur der so genannten Al Quds-Brigaden des Iran, Qasem Soleimani, nicht zuletzt um die Symbolwirkung ging. Dazu gehört auch, dass nach Angaben der iranischen Revolutionsgarden die Raketen auf al-Asad exakt zu der Zeit abgefeuert wurden, zu der am vergangenen Freitag Soleimani getroffen worden war:

The spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday that Iran hit the US Ain Assad Air Base in Iraq at 1:20 a.m. which is exactly the same time American forces assassinated its great commander Lieutenant-General Qasem Soleimani.

Der iranische Außenminister Javed Zarif rechtfertigte den Angriff als berechtigte Selbstverteidigung:

Trump rief in seiner Rede namentlich die Europäer auf, von ihrer Haltung zu Iran abzurücken und auf die US-Linie des maximalen Drucks einzuschwenken. Seit 1979, der islamischen Revolution in Iran, hätten praktisch alle Länder die destruktive Politik Teherans toleriert – diese Tage sind vorbei. Insbesondere Deutschland, Frankreich und Großbritannien müssten zusammen mit Russland und Frankreich einsehen, dass das Atomabkommen mit dem Land gescheitert sei und ein neues Abkommen benötigt werde, um eine nukleare Bewaffung Irans zu verhindern. Zudem müsse sich die NATO mehr im Nahen Osten engagieren.

Kernbotschaft des US-Präsidenten war allerdings: Iran appears to be standing down, Iran scheint einzuknicken – quasi als Begründung dafür, dass die USA nicht auf die iranische Reaktion auf ihren Angriff mit einer weiteren Eskalation antworten.

Die Bundeswehr prüft unterdessen, ob sie ihre Präsenz im Irak weiter verringert. Bereits am Vortag waren deutsche Soldaten aus Taji im Zentralirak abgezogen worden, jetzt geht es um die knapp 120 Bundeswehrsoldaten in Erbil, wo auch eine iranische Rakete eingeschlagen war. Nach Angaben des Verteidigungsministeriums ist die Hälfte der derzeit dort verbliebenen Soldaten mit dem Betrieb des Camps beschäftigt, in dem auch Truppen anderer Nationen stationiert sind. Die andere Hälfte sei als Ausbilder für irakische Streitkräfte dort – da diese Ausbildung derzeit ruhe, würden sie nicht mehr zwingend in Erbil benötigt. Auch andere Nationen haben ihre Ausbilder bereits aus dem Irak abgezogen.

Unklar blieb unterdessen ein weiterer Vorfall im Iran selbst: Eine ukrainische Passagiermaschine mit mehr als 170 Menschen an Bord stürzte nahe der iranischen Hauptstadt Teheran ab, alle kamen ums Leben. Mutmaßungen, die Maschine sei von der iranischen Luftverteidigung irrtümlich abgeschossen worden – unter anderem, weil die Trümmerteile Splitterspuren wie nach dem Treffer einer Flugabwehrrakete aufweisen sollen – blieben bislang unbelegt.

Nachtrag: Dieser Bericht der Washington Post rückt den Angriff noch mal in ein ganz anderes Licht:

U.S. officials knew Iranian missiles were coming hours in advance
The Iranian missile strike on American locations in Iraq on Tuesday was a calibrated event intended to cause minimal American casualties, give the Iranians a face-saving measure and provide an opportunity for both sides to step back from the brink of war, according to senior U.S. officials in Washington and the Middle East. (…)
U.S. officials said they knew by Tuesday afternoon that Iran intended to strike at American targets in Iraq, although it was not immediately clear exactly which they would choose.
The early warning came from intelligence sources as well as communications from Iraq that conveyed Iran’s intentions to launch the strike, officials said.

Nachtrag: Das Transkript von Trumps Rede:

Good morning. I’m pleased to inform you: The American people should be extremely grateful and happy no Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.

Our great American forces are prepared for anything. Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.

No American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken, the dispersal of forces, and an early warning system that worked very well. I salute the incredible skill and courage of America’s men and women in uniform.

For far too long — all the way back to 1979, to be exact — nations have tolerated Iran’s destructive and destabilizing behavior in the Middle East and beyond. Those days are over. Iran has been the leading sponsor of terrorism, and their pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens the civilized world. We will never let that happen.

Last week, we took decisive action to stop a ruthless terrorist from threatening American lives. At my direction, the United States military eliminated the world’s top terrorist, Qasem Soleimani. As the head of the Quds Force, Soleimani was personally responsible for some of the absolutely worst atrocities.

He trained terrorist armies, including Hezbollah, launching terrorist strikes against civilian targets. He fueled bloody civil wars all across the region. He viciously wounded and murdered thousands of U.S. troops, including the planting of roadside bombs that maim and dismember their victims.

Soleimani directed the recent attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq that badly wounded four service members and killed one American, and he orchestrated the violent assault on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. In recent days, he was planning new attacks on American targets, but we stopped him.

Soleimani’s hands were drenched in both American and Iranian blood. He should have been terminated long ago. By removing Soleimani, we have sent a powerful message to terrorists: If you value your own life, you will not threaten the lives of our people.

As we continue to evaluate options in response to Iranian aggression, the United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime. These powerful sanctions will remain until Iran changes its behavior.

In recent months alone, Iran has seized ships in international waters, fired an unprovoked strike on Saudi Arabia, and shot down two U.S. drones.

Iran’s hostilities substantially increased after the foolish Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2013, and they were given $150 billion, not to mention $1.8 billion in cash. Instead of saying “thank you” to the United States, they chanted “death to America.” In fact, they chanted “death to America” the day the agreement was signed.

Then, Iran went on a terror spree, funded by the money from the deal, and created hell in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration. The regime also greatly tightened the reins on their own country, even recently killing 1,500 people at the many protests that are taking place all throughout Iran.

The very defective JCPOA expires shortly anyway, and gives Iran a clear and quick path to nuclear breakout. Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism. The time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China to recognize this reality.

They must now break away from the remnants of the Iran deal -– or JCPOA –- and we must all work together toward making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place. We must also make a deal that allows Iran to thrive and prosper, and take advantage of its enormous untapped potential. Iran can be a great country.

Peace and stability cannot prevail in the Middle East as long as Iran continues to foment violence, unrest, hatred, and war. The civilized world must send a clear and unified message to the Iranian regime: Your campaign of terror, murder, mayhem will not be tolerated any longer. It will not be allowed to go forward.

Today, I am going to ask NATO to become much more involved in the Middle East process. Over the last three years, under my leadership, our economy is stronger than ever before and America has achieved energy independence. These historic accompliments [accomplishments] changed our strategic priorities. These are accomplishments that nobody thought were possible. And options in the Middle East became available. We are now the number-one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world. We are independent, and we do not need Middle East oil.

The American military has been completely rebuilt under my administration, at a cost of $2.5 trillion. U.S. Armed Forces are stronger than ever before. Our missiles are big, powerful, accurate, lethal, and fast. Under construction are many hypersonic missiles.

The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it. We do not want to use it. American strength, both military and economic, is the best deterrent.

Three months ago, after destroying 100 percent of ISIS and its territorial caliphate, we killed the savage leader of ISIS, al-Baghdadi, who was responsible for so much death, including the mass beheadings of Christians, Muslims, and all who stood in his way. He was a monster. Al-Baghdadi was trying again to rebuild the ISIS caliphate, and failed.

Tens of thousands of ISIS fighters have been killed or captured during my administration. ISIS is a natural enemy of Iran. The destruction of ISIS is good for Iran, and we should work together on this and other shared priorities.

Finally, to the people and leaders of Iran: We want you to have a future and a great future — one that you deserve, one of prosperity at home, and harmony with the nations of the world. The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.

I want to thank you, and God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

(Foto: Satellitenbild der Basis al-Asad im Irak nach dem Raketenangriff – Planetlabs unter CC-BY-SA-Lizenz)