[cheers and applause] tonight, the act of revenge. iranian state tv releasing video of what it says are missiles targeting military bases in iraq that house u.s. troops. days after u.s. drone strike killed a top iranian commander. at u.s. braced for retaliation and deployed 3600 more american troops to the middle east. now the late-breaking details. what this latest provocation means in a heightened crisis. what president trump is saying tonight. iran strikes back, special edition of "nightline" will be right back.

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this coming after a u.s. drone strike killed one of their top military commanders, general qassem soleimani, a revered figure in the country and across the middle east. iranians out in full force in the streets to honor him. president trump briefed on tonight's attack which came hours after he doubled down on his order to take out soleimani, insisting that the general was planning a quote, very big attack. >> well, number one, i knew the past. his past was terrible. he was a terrorist. we had tremendous information. we've been following him for a long time. and we followed his path for those three days. and they were not good stops. we didn't like where he was stopping. they were not good stops. we saved a lot of lives. >> this as iranians tonight pay their final respects to sole mawn e the white house closely monitoring the situation. president trump tweeting tonight that quote, all is well. this after the foreign minister for iran tweeted they took

proporti proportionate measures in self defense adding that they do not seek escalation or war but will defend themselves. the ouu.s. deploying 3600 more troops to the middle east in response to simmering tensions. we go now to our ian pannell from erbil, iraq. >> reporter: it's been an evening of fast-moving events and high-tension. two strikes by multiple missiles launched from the surface in iran, landing in the surface in iraq. the first and main target was the al-assad air base. this is in western iraq out towards the syrian border. home normally to thousands of u.s. troops. it's not clear how many were based there at the time, together with a large number of iraqi troops as well. the other target was here in erbil. we found the sound of explosions

at about 5:45 followed by another explosion about 30 or 40 minutes later. two of those were targeted at the erbil international airport less than two miles from here. they were intercepted bay defense system. a third missile landing out in open ground. if that is of course the case that will be analyzed by u.s. military experts to determine exactly what it was and more importantly where it came from. but it seems that the u.s. military were tracking the flight of these. now the other key site which was the al-assad air base apparently was hit by multiple rockets, although it appears a number of them failed to hit their targets. that's according to senior u.s. officials. everyone now remains on high alert, waiting to see what happens next. what will be the retal yas fria from the united states, if any. iraqi forces will be in a high alert status to see what

happens, in a defensive posture at least until the word comes to act differently. >> we now turn to martha raddatz in tehran. what are you learning from the iranian side on this attack? >> reporter: byron, i had spoken to the iranian foreign minister just hours before these retaliatory attacks. zarif told me that they wanted to hit the united states in a place that would cause the most pain. he also said they were very patient people and they would do it at a time and place where they thought it would be most effective. but this came very suddenly here in tehran. we talked to some people in the lobby of our hotel, some iranians who were so concerned about this. and when they started hearing the news they were very worried that there would be a retaliatory attack from the united states and that we would be in an all-out war. zarif told me today that that is up to the united states and how

they respond to this attack. but i get the sense here tonight, byron, that no one in iran wants any sort of all-out conflict. and where just a few days ago the ball was in iran's court, it is now certainly in the united states' opinion in what they do and what action president trump takes in retaliation to this attack. byron? >> thanks, martha. we turn to abc's senior national correspondent, terry moran. what are you hearing from the white house tonight? >> reporter: the president was apprised right away of this attack, and he gathered around him his top national security team, secretary of state mike pompeo, defense secretary mark esper. top military commanders, vice president pence all coming to the white house, in the situation room as these developments occurred. and they watched as the damage assessment took place. he was also calling other world leaders, including the amir qatar.

qatar sometimes a go-between between iran and the west. so he was involved diplomatically and militarily, but at the end of the night, held fire, both literally and rhetorically. this is a president who's been issuing bloodcurdling threats against iran, threatening massive escalation if they retaliate for the killing of qassem soleimani, and nothing really at the end of the day, except the president said he would be speaking to the nation tomorrow morning. >> the president tweeted tonight saying in part, quote, all is well. what does this tweet signal do you think? >> reporter: i do think it signals that he's looking for an off ramp, wanting to maintain american credibility. certainly, one of his main political goals is to distinguish himself from president barack obama and other previous presidents who say we weren't tough enough on iran. he has taken this dramatic action, taking off the battle

field soleimani. and here is this response from iran which apparently has taken no american lives, no iraqi lives. it sounds as if both sides are trying to soften the tone an a little bit. that's hard to say after a missile attack, but it did not kill. and i think the president's response is measured in response to that. that is essentially what one can hope, given the prospect that the region could explode in these days. but right now it looks like president trump, who has certainly talked tough, is measuring his response. we'll find out more tomorrow morning when he does address the nation. >> thank you terry, we turn to steve ganyard. there are no reports of casualties and reports that some of the missiles failed. what kind of a message do you think iran was trying to send? >> i think they were trying to

apie appease domestic anger. we stood up to the great satan. we stood up to the united states and hit them back but not do it in such a way that would give president trump a reason to retaliate against iran with greater conventional military means. so it was just enough to satisfy domestic political opinion and sat fig satisfy the anger of the iranian people but not enough for a war in the gulf. >> they put out a statement calling americans terrorists and warning that any more american aggression would result in pounding responses. what kind of damage are they capable of creating? >> they're quite capable. you remember the attacks on the saudi arabian oil refineries. if you looked at that, the precision. each one of those oil tanks had a pinprick that blew up that tank. very well coordinated. their military is quite good. most of it is home ground, bgro

they do havexcellent capabilities. that's why when we look at these airfields they don't make sense. if they wanted to really do damage to the united states, these would be the last two place they would hit. any other place in the persian gulf that had more troops would make more sense. this goes back to the idea, perhaps they didn't want to do any damage. perhaps they wanted to make a statement that they can play on domestic television, show rob s rockets in the air and call it a day. >> now tehran is about eight and a half hours ahead of us time wise. what do you think the perspective will be? >> i think they'll feel good that their government did something, stood up for them. the outpouring of grief that we've seen, the photos of hundreds of thousands of people filling the streets. stampedes because they wanted to get close to the soleimani casket. there's a lot of emotion right now in iran itself. if we think for the past three

months there have been riots in the streets. thousands of iranians have been killed by iranian security forces because of the dissatisfaction with the regime. they need to show that they are responsive to the sadness of the iranian people. that's what they're going to continue to play. we stood up to them to. but now we need to get back fix being t fixing the country. how events culminated in the attacks by the iranians. ith spr. try clean freak! it has three times the cleaning power of the leading spray to dissolve kitchen grease on contact. and it's great for bathrooms! just keep pumping the power nozzle to release a continuous burst of mist and make quick work of big jobs. it even works on stainless steel. it cuts through 100% of dirt, grease and grime.

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tonight's missile attack by the iranians against two military bases in iraq that house american troops is the late nest latest in a heightened crisis between the two nations, a relationship that came crashing down when civilians were held hostage in the u.s. embassy in tehran. just hours ago, iran firing missiles at bases in iraq hosting u.s. troops. as of now, there are no reports of american casualties. but the strike has the world on edge. iran's attack comes after days of public mourning. a sea of iranians filling the streets of tehran, grieving general qassem soleimani killed by a u.s. drone strike last week. his funeral one of the biggest

in decades. so packed it proved deadly. as captured on cell phone video, a human stampede left more than 50 dead and many more injured. >> trump made a big mistake. >> a game changer for iran and the u.s. iran hailed soleimani a hero. the trump administration calls him a terrorist, blaming him for the killings of hundreds of u.s. troops. >> sole mainy made the the the troops his sick passion. >> he was in charge of the nation's elite military forces. some seen here burning the u.s. flag. others joining a rallying >> revenge must happen, and it is certain. >> my colleague, martha raddatz,

one of the few western journalists first allowed in the country. >> what is your message? >> any message for donald trump? >> he should stop going down this path. it will not help. stop listening to arrogant, ignorant people. >> foreign minister zarif this morning before the strike shared this foreboding message. >> iran is a very patient country. we will take our action after necessary deliberation. but i'm sure that it will be taken at the time of our choosing. not the team ime of the united states' choosing. >> soleimani taunted president trump in a speech in 2018, saying in part, let me tell you, mr. trump the gambler, we are near you in places that don't

come to your mind. >> sole mainy was plotting attacks on diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him. >> but there are questions about the administration's initial justification for the attack. just how imminent those threats were. >> are you concerned that a strong response from iran will end in an all-out war? >> that depends on the united states. the united states took an act of war against iran. it will have to be prepared fort consequences. then it will have to decide whether it wants to get itself into a quagmire, or whether it wants to stop. >> america's contentious history iran goes back decades, back to 1953, when the u.s. installed the shah to protect oil interests. after 25 years in 1979, the mass demonstrations filled the streets and forced the shah into

exile. >> the oust embasu.s. embassy i been inundated by students. >> they were held for days before they were released in 1981. the relationship would remain fractured. fast forward to 2013. president obama's administration started making small steps to bridge hostilities. include a one on one conversation with rouhani, as the latest crisis began in 2018 when president trump dismantled the iran nuclear deal. >> this was a horrible, one-sided deal. >> in 2015, the u.s. along with a group of world powers brokered the deal with iran to end its nuclear program. that momentary thaw is now in the past. hostilities continue to escalate

after a series of iranian provocations this past summer, including the downing of an american drone. then, in late december an american contractor was killed in a rocket attack in iraq. the u.s. blamed an iranian-backed militia, responded with airstrikes that killed at least two dozen people. on new year's eve, a huge crowd of protesters breached the embassy. two days later, general soleimani was killed? the u. in the drone attack. what happens next is unknown. and we'll be right back with an update on today's events. uggishn can be a sign your digestive system isn't working at its best. taking metamucil every day can help. its psyllium fiber forms a gel that traps and removes the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption, promoting healthy blood sugar levels. so, start feeling lighter and more energetic

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if you're just tuning in now, the iranians tonight have launched a missile attack on two iraqi military bases housing american troops. iran vowed to retaliate for days after a u.s. drone strike killed one of their top commanders. also breaking late tonight, the

iranian aviation administration confirming an airline crash. the aircraft belonging to ukrainian international airlines was carrying at least 170 passengers and headed for kiev when it crashed shortly after takeoff. officials say there are no survivors. we'll have continuing coverage on the u.s./iranian crisis throughout the night and on gma in the morning. that's "nightline," you can always catch our full episodes on hulu. thanks for the company, america, goodnight.