The record begins at 1.30am. On January 8, 2020, Iran fired a barrage of more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi bases holding American and coalition forces, declaring it retaliation for the killing days earlier of the senior Iranian general Qassem Suleimani. Analysts noted it was the first direct Iranian strike on a U.S. base, and the assault opened at about 1.30am local time, 10.30pm GMT.
On the timeline, the counts diverge. The Iraqi government said al-Asad airbase in Anbar province took 17 hits, including two ballistic missiles that never detonated, with five more aimed at Erbil in the north. A U.S. defense official, according to the record, put it differently: 10 missiles hit al-Asad, one more struck Erbil’s international airport, and the rest failed in flight. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs, in an analysis by researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, showed damaged and destroyed buildings across the base.
The casualty ledger that day read zero. Iraq, Britain, Australia, Canada and the U.S. all said no one among their personnel was killed or injured. Iranian state media countered, without evidence, that at least 80 American personnel were dead or injured and the figure concealed. Reuters, citing unnamed U.S. and European officials, reported a belief that Iran had intentionally aimed to avoid killing or wounding American soldiers.
Both governments leaned away from war within hours. Trump tweeted “All is well!” and said casualty assessments were continuing, adding “so far, so good”. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the strikes had “concluded” and were proportionate self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter: “We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.” Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, addressing a Qom audience, was less soothing: “We just gave [the US] a slap in the face last night. But that is not equivalent to what they did.” Rouhani’s promised “final answer” was to “kick all US forces out of the region”.
Behind the strikes ran an Iraqi channel. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s office said Iran gave notice just past midnight that an attack was under way, confined to places where U.S. forces were present; his government rejected any violation of Iraqi sovereignty, working to “contain the situation to avoid a devastating all-out war”. Iraq’s parliament had days earlier backed a non-binding push to expel American forces. The Pentagon, for its part, said both installations “have been on high alert due to indications that the Iranian regime planned to attack our forces and interests in the region.” Al-Asad, some 37 miles (60km) west of Baghdad and in American and coalition hands since the 2003 invasion, held about 1,500 foreign troops of roughly 5,000 U.S. forces then in Iraq; Canada withdrew part of its 500-strong contingent.
Sources
- Iran launches missiles at Iraq airbases hosting US and coalition troops | Iraq | The Guardian
- See the damage at al-Asad airbase following Iranian missile strike
