Media: U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Warns of Possible Attacks Within Next 48 Hours; Trump Says Iran's "Target Is Almost Achieved," Vows to Smash Iran Back to the "Stone Age" in Next Two to Three Weeks

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a statement on social platform X on Thursday warning that pro-Iranian Iraqi armed groups may launch attacks on the capital’s city center within the next two days.

The embassy statement said: "Iraqi terrorist militias aligned with Iran may carry out attacks on Baghdad’s city center within the next 24 to 48 hours." The U.S. embassy once again urged Americans in Iraq to immediately leave the country.

The U.S. Embassy is located in a highly secured area in central Baghdad and has been targeted multiple times since the outbreak of the Iran conflict.

The statement also expressed regret over the Iraqi government’s failure to "prevent terrorist attacks launched from or on its territory," noting that "terrorist militias aligned with Iran may claim to represent the Iraqi government."

The former paramilitary coalition, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), has now been integrated into Iraq’s regular military, but includes several pro-Iran factions known for operating independently.

Meanwhile, these armed groups have become targets themselves, blaming U.S. and Israeli airstrikes for casualties among their members.

The group stated that three of their members were killed in an airstrike in northwestern Iraq on Wednesday, once again accusing the United States and Israel.

The Pentagon acknowledged that since the start of the Iran conflict, U.S. military helicopters have indeed conducted strikes against pro-Iranian forces inside Iraq.

In the northern Kurdish region of Iraq, at least 30 drones carried out nighttime raids in Erbil and Dahuk provinces, with no casualties reported so far.

Additionally, American journalist Shelly Kittleson was abducted in Baghdad on Tuesday. Iraqi security officials said one suspect had been arrested and that the incident was linked to the pro-Tehran Kata'ib Hezbollah faction.

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On Wednesday evening, President Trump addressed the nation, stating that Iran "no longer poses a real threat," that U.S. military objectives are nearly achieved, and promising to deliver a "fierce" strike on Iran in the coming two to three weeks, sending it back to the "Stone Age."

In the full text of his speech published by the Associated Press on April 2, Trump said: "Over the past four weeks, our armed forces have achieved rapid, decisive, and overwhelming victories on the battlefield. Iran’s navy no longer exists; its air force lies in ruins; most of the leaders of its terror regime have been killed. Their command and control over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is being completely dismantled. Their ability to launch missiles and drones has been severely weakened. Their weapons, factories, and rocket launchers are being reduced to rubble."

Trump also pledged that in the coming two to three weeks, they would face extremely intense strikes. "We will smash them back to the 'Stone Age,' returning them to where they belong."

He added that negotiations are still ongoing. Regime change is not our goal. We never said we wanted to overthrow the regime. But since all their original leaders are dead, regime change has already occurred. The new leadership is less radical and more rational.

Trump warned, however, that if no agreement is reached during this period, we have already locked onto their key targets. If no deal is made, we will strike every power plant in Iran with fierce intensity—and likely simultaneously.

Trump also defended his decision during his first term to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying: "I terminated Barack Hussein Obama’s Iran nuclear deal — it was a disaster. Obama gave them $17 billion in cash — real money, pulled directly from banks in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland, flown in planes to try to buy their respect and loyalty — but it didn’t work. They laughed at our president and continued advancing their nuclear weapons program. That Iran nuclear deal gave Iran a massive nuclear arsenal."

Source: rfi

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1861383317762060/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author