saudi arabia would they help iraq to keep iran at bay of course they wouldn't that the reason why you are one of the main reasons why you iraq became so military vulnerable to iran and politically and socially vulnerable is because iraq never received an arab support to support the arab identity or the if there is such an are a persian rivalry between iraq to being the gate of the arab world against iran iraq had to face the rainy and hedger monic regional expansionism due to them it's a do to due to the destructive us invasion by itself saudi arabia was never there for you iraq if we were look for an arab country that ever supported iraq against iran turkey was never there for you iraq against iran if we were to consider turkey to be the the regional power player which is more interested in creating a unified a sunni front against iran and then in direct way so no no one stood up for iraq right i'll give you the last word in geneva do you think it's too late for diplomacy to avert a major escalation in this region following the assassination. there's been a lot of talk in the last fe

iraq is already embroiled. the conflict between iran and america is taking place in iraq. d i'm not a fan of iran, i have always stood against iranian influence in iraq, and i don't want to see this happening again. as iran take control of iraq. but the problem is — what is going to happen? do they have a conflict policy... as in the wars of 2010 and 2003, they didn't have a post—conflict policy, what to do in iraq. now, i'm not sure whether they have policy or not. but i know that this administration is different than the previous administrations. it's more sharp, they do what they think is right as far as the the american interests are concerned. and this is very important because we need to see a restoration of the world—class leadership in america as well as in other countries. hang on, i'm a little confused about what you're saying. donald trump, you say, is a different sort of american president. he's sharp, you say. the administration. yes, but the point is this: donald trump right now is issuing new threats. he's talking about 52 sites that he will hit, including cu

after all iran has no troops in iraq iran is working with the government that have was elected through elections and the united states keeps sanctioning and sanctioning people and governments that even do business with iran so it's the american military bases it's the americans who are trying to prevent the normalization of trade the american sodium rocky media day and night is carrying a cycle of carrying out psychological warfare trying to turn the iraqi population against iran then you have thousands of n.g.o.s literally thousands funded by the united states in iraq active and then despite of that the united states behaves with impunity murders people takes responsibility and they expect people now. to go in and protest the problem is the u.s. occupation and it's not just limited to iraq look at yemen look at libya look at what they did in syria on it let me stop you there just because i want to bring in a smell saddam to respond to this does the u.s. have to conclude on the basis of what mohammad just said that its mission in iraq has failed it appears to h

what were the toast between iraq and iran? ran have strong ties and they are stronger than the iraqi american ties. the iranians have a presence, strong ties. the iranians have a presence, strong presence ties. the iranians have a presence, strong presence in iran. they have many shi'ite militias who are in charge in iraq and they are also the ones who are mapping the political scene and the military scene inside iraq. many iraqis, especially among the youth, see iran controlling iraq com pletely the youth, see iran controlling iraq completely and that is why we have seen completely and that is why we have seen protests taking to the streets in the past couple of months, quinn against the government, corrupt government but also criticising iran and don't want iranian influence and control over their country any more. this group of people we have seen celebrating the of qasem suleimani, however the other group who is in close relationship with iran, they are the ones who have the weapons, they control in the city, so far iran ha

embassy in baghdad has issued an alert all americans to leave iraq immediately iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei has cooled for 3 days of national mourning and many warned of harsh revenge and said the attack would double tehran's resolve to resist the united states iraq's prime minister says the strike will spark a devastating war we'll speak to our correspondents in the region shortly but 1st this report from zain by. in the early hours of friday shortly after arriving at baghdad international airport major general customs and iranian war hero who led the charge against isis in iraq and syria was killed in a u.s. airstrike. his close ally the deputy head of hostile xabi an iranian backed iraqi militia. was also killed along with other members of his group. u.s. missiles hit their convoy as they left the airport. so the money was commander of the quds force a unit of iran's revolutionary guard responsible for foreign operations for iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei so the money was a trusted confidant a member of his inner circle his killing in a targeted u.s. s

iran have. been fired on iraq it shows you know the possibility for a proxy war developing between the u.s. and iran within iraq is very real and you know again i mean we're we're waiting sinking to developing as we're speaking but you know if things continue to escalate you know it could. be very bad for iraq to be stuck in the middle of you know the u.s. and iran. a journalist in baghdad thank you very much for those updates and we have team coverage of those attacks right now we want to head to washington d.c. our correspondent. is standing by for us pablo what more you hearing where you are about those attacks hi carol well in the past few minutes u.s. media is reporting that president trump is preparing to address the nation this evening is so we're waiting for further confirmation of that and we're not sure exactly what time that's going to place that's going to take place if it does take place it will only be the 2nd time under president president that he will be addressing the nation. so what we do know as well is that currently the defense secretary mark asper is at the white house

civil aviation operators from using airspace over iraq iran the gulf and the gulf of amman let's go to our white house correspondent kimberly hellcat also on top of that aspect kimberly osias well we've heard what may yet prove to be iran's 1st official reaction. the telecommunications minister tweeting i guess in effect to the white house saying get the hell out of our region and i suppose in one sense that's the kind of strength of language that's predictable but maybe it's the kind of language that donald trump has got to rise above and maybe not react to it as a kneejerk reaction he's got to play some 3 d. chess here because it's the middle east is a complex mosaic at the best of times. yeah and it's we have to try and determine from that tweet what they mean by get out of here if that means the president's overall which has been a subject of discussion for a number of days now with regard to u.s. troop presence in the region or does this mean with respect to what you were saying just a moment ago with respect to airspace and whether or not there is a significant military presence

aviation authorities have banned american registered carriers from flying over iraq iran in the gulf of oman following those attacks as well as the crash of a passenger airliner in iran. meanwhile several commercial airlines including quantas air france and malaysia airlines have canceled or rerouted flights to avoid iranian airspace as the military tensions continue. and the world's biggest consumer electric shock electronics show is back in las vegas and while chinese companies still have the biggest footprint in the show they scale back a little bit to the trade relations a c.s. is no longer just a showcase showcase for tech companies boasting new phones or trade network technology today firms like airlines and car companies are also showing off their latest just the latest sign of how personal technology is migrating into every aspect of our lives. a look at the future of automobiles german com maker b.m.w. presenting the self driving electric eye 3 urban suite the prototype has only one passenger seat feet up and let the car do the driving. this car might become reality soon but

iran, aimed at u.s. military facilities in iraq. at least two sites, including the asad air base and an air base in erbil. iran state television airing this, saying these are some of 2 iranian missiles. iranian tv calling this a revenge operation, after president trump ordered the deadly drone strike on iran's top general. the missiles fired tonight part of what iran is calling operation martyr soleimani. we have learned one of the bases, asad air base in western iraq. president trump and the first lady visited a little more than a year ago, in december of 2018. president trump is being briefed at this hour, meeting with his national security team in the situation room. and it was just hours before in the white house, the president forcefully defended his order to carry out that deadly strike that killed general qassem soleimani, saying the iranian general was planning a, quote, very big attack and that the deadly strike, quote, saved a lot of lives. but the president did not reveal any evidence about the imminent attack and the pres

there is a sense that he has a very large influence in iraq politics but i.d.m. today iran insists that it was a sovereign country they are in charge of their own government they are wrong and not meddling in iraq affairs and other than at the invitation of the iraqi government telling on one. thing there is official that was the extent officially of his involvement in iraq. we'll talk to you later in the meantime thank you al jazeera sullivan jabez has been keeping us right across old big developments on this evolving story over the past 45 a half 6 hours now osama i guess there will be multiple investigations multiple inquiries and multiple claims and counterclaims now. absolutely i think it is quite interesting to retrace the steps in the beginning of this night as we started hearing this alleged drunk at the tact we kept hearing from witnesses that there was a very heavy presence in the air which what witnesses thought was u.s. helicopters so we need 9 to wait and see on when the u.s. declared then it releases information about the modus operandi of how this operation w

the last time iran launched missiles at iraq was during the iran-iraq war.issiles are potent. they could potentially kill americans, but they can also kill the iraqis that are stationed on those bases. so, they're in danger as well. and my guess is these strikes are just the first in the number to come in the days ahead. i wod be amazed if they're going to limit it to a couple of waves. r more to follow. this will spark retaliation by the trump administration and potentially into iran proper. so, you'll have u.s. weapons landing on iranian soil. and that also is an enormous escalation. >> i mean, that, jim sciutto, is a war. >> yeah. >> and so, you have the president of the united states today saying that he would attack if he needed to for retribution. that was before this happened. you have this tweet from a couple of days ago where he said if iran should strike any u.s. person or target, the united states will quickly and fully strike back and perhaps in a disproportionate manner. >> couple things of significance. the idea these were missiles, not rockets

iran's advantage again. and all of it in 2003 and $4.00 after the invasion and we saw that do. that. with a sudden the same gone a future share of that in iraq. align itself closely with iran and of course overcome their troubled history now i think. there's been a one of the unintended consequence of killing some of money as well now the iraqis are asking americans to leave iraq because of course they don't want to be battlefield for the in the middle of all of this so so yes the day they play this in the very very bad way and of course this will be a big strategic victory for the iranians because they would like the americans to leave the middle east and iraq would of course be a highest priority in terms of where they should lead in syria. yes of all obviously so i think well i do sympathize with the goal though to get like you mentioned get them on out of iraq and i think what the middle east really needs is a proper security architecture and now i think the problem there is i think this more interested in conceptualizing security architecture like we do in europe where we establish a military alliance for example against russia now i th

west of iraq. iran iran these are should also warning united states to to crease the situation and also they also put another goals and other targets in the region they also we are ready to give in the wave of the of the attack probably back to you tell us more about about one of the confirmed targets now the ol assad air base what do we know about that base and tell us about its significance for the u.s. military. that's right of course there are 2 bases but one of course is the. base and that's in western iraq we must also mention that there are over $5000.00 u.s. troops based in iraq it's a very large complex it's split into 2 though it's split into an area where american troops are based and then there are iraqi troops and another part of the base we're waiting for confirmation that in fact the attack earlier today was actually to the iraqi side we also don't know whether there are casualties yet that is still unconfirmed and it's a place that's very well known to americans why because vice presiden

what's clear now was iraq has become the battleground in this fight between the u.s. and iran so what are the fears and concerns of ordinary iraq as the people on the street. there are extremely worried have been through 4 decades of intermittent war they have only just come out of a 4 year war against eisel and the past 2 years have been an unprecedented or perhaps rare period. stability here in the country that gave many people hope that they could finally look towards the future try to build a better country and demand a better future for themselves but of course the latest crisis has been a huge throwback with many people preoccupied here that they will be once again dragged into a war that they didn't choose that they could end up being a call lateral damage as the u.s. and iran continue this tit for tat for tat attacks and of course we don't have just iran threatening retaliation we also have iranian backed groups here in iraq threatening to avenge the deaths of. hundreds we've just had today a statement from the media office of the who is one of the leaders of one of th

iran fires more than a dozen missiles into iraq here bases hosting u.s. forces insisting it was legitimate self-defense. down in jordan this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up iran's supreme leader calls the missile attack a slap in the face for the u.s. and says it must leave the region. the burial has finally taken place for iranian commander customs in the morning and sustentation sparked this latest escalation. and the ukrainian plane crashes moments after takeoff from around the capital killing more than $170.00 people. iran has struck back at the u.s. in retaliation for the assassination of one of its generals it fired more than a dozen missiles to iraqi bases hosting u.s. forces tehran has warned of further strikes if washington responds but pointed out that it doesn't want war well we have a team of correspondents monitoring all the developments some of the fault is in iraq's capital baghdad gable is on there we'll have more on president trump's reaction and i said big is standing by in the rainy and capital will be speaking to them in jus

had expanded what he called islamic resistance to half a 1000000 square kilometers connecting iran through iraq and syria to lebanon the cuts force runs iran's foreign military and clandestine operations so they money delegated iranian diplomats to meet u.s. officials after the $911.00 attacks and they brutally worked together against the taliban. but that relationship didn't last long. the u.s. and iran spirals aligned once again in the fight against eisel but then evolved beyond the battlefield in april last year the u.s. designated iran's islamic revolutionary guards corps as a terrorist organization but so in money had the full support of his government the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei awarded him iran's highest military honor last year same so a money had survived many attempts on his life both here in iran and abroad and now his death will likely embolden the groups who support it as a rainy and mark 3 days of national mourning many here are looking to see what will happen next. al-jazeera tehran. u.s. secretary of state my pump aoe says the airstrike has made the world a much safer

airlines from flying over as spies airspace in iraq iran the gulf of oman and waters between iran and saudi arabia so we're looking at flight right now 24 here showing some of the gulf traffic big hubs in this area as you will know in dubai here in. as well and a lot of u.s. carriers do come through the region so just keeping an eye on how busy or not the skies are they will still have planes in the sky obviously from other airlines because this applies only at this stage to usa lines it's come from their own federal aviation authority aviation analyst kyle bailey spoke to us earlier to explain the potential impact of that decision. basically means is the f.d.a. is being proactive in protecting the airspace and ensuring that u.s. based aircraft and aircraft flying over the region are safe because there are obviously there have been missiles launched listing missiles and they're being very proactive here in ensuring safe operation of aircraft in the region in fact we have to keep in mind also that there are countermeasures so if if a ballistic missile is launched you know the opponents

remember, the biggest country at stake right now, believe it or not, is not iran, it's iraq. why? because they're on both ends of this deal. they're getting from iran, getting it from the united states which is why they're saying, we want the united states out. they don't like iran at all. but what they dislike even more is the nakt that they become the ping-pong ball for each side. >> and this takes us back to the 1908, the iran/iraq war. >> we had a war between the two countries almost nine years, the entire decade. ironically, the united states during that period supported iraq. of course, things changed after that. then we went in to get saddam hussein. the united states has been all over. remember, we helped get the shah of iran in 1953. there's a lot of anger in the middle east toward the united states. we don't like to think about that. we view ourselves differently. but let me tell you something, there are plenty of people in the middle east who right now are saying it's about time they got theirs. >> tension for decades. before the attack, house speaker said she wanted to

more escalation in the region in terms of military actions but still he should expect that iraq is response. iran coordination i heard today that the. leader of iraq militia. strike last night in retaliation for generally money. steal iraq is going to retaliate. and. that these the commandos assassinations and we should just expect more attacks on u.s. interests in iraq but not from the rain inside. iran is up there still a shame because it has formed a rocky government mentioned by all that up tonight it's a day 'd that iran had sent a message bevo message to that iraq is on them and that it is going to hit that. exact a no left. in order to bar. troops and get them out of that they still don't know iraq because. of course the iraqi government has informed the u.s. administration all the attacks before hand so no the americans were prepared for the iranian attack and it showed the. troops by the u.s. presidents. he was very calm that everything good they knew that iran is going to and they were prepared for about so it's no surprise the. building no casualties reported at this by the american an

they looked to iran to help them empower. the shias in iraqo took advantage of iran to consolidate their power. in that scenario, soleimani became very important. he was the military relationship between iran and shia communities. part of his popularity among shia arabs and some iranians is the fact that the insurgency in iraq, the war in syria, and the rise of isis were seen as sunni assaults on shias. so he's credited with protecting -- he's credited in protecting iraq and taken over by isis at the moment there were no army. he sees it as a savior. many iranians thought he protected the shia shrines from isis. the backdrop to the entire soleimani is the ongoing situation in the region. >> i was talking to an iraqi politician who said to me, you americans, you have influence in the region because you can bomb, you are a great fire power, the iranians have influence because they have local partners with deep credibility like hezbollah in lebanon and they have ties to these communities. it is a much more, what he was trying to say is a bottom u

airlines from flying over the region that means iraq iran and right through the gulf. and the gulf of oman as well washington is also warning american ships in the middle east that iran could attack it's a mess its maritime interests and this is all happening as general sort of man himself is finally laid to rest in his hometown of kurd amman after 3 days of mourning across the country well let's show you exactly where these iranian strikes took place as we said they are 2 iraqi bases one of them in erbil that's not quite the right map we'll try and find the right one for you but it's a no bail in the north the semi autonomous kurdish region and then west in anbar province the. base ok so here's the team at this hour simona fulton is in baghdad. in washington but we're starting with begg in the iranian capital take us through developments as we've seen them over the last well 7 hours i think it's been now. yes well iran launched a retaliatory act as they say against u.s. bases u.s. targets in iraq the 1st one came around 1 32 am local time where tens of missiles were fi

money joined iran's revolutionary guard after the iranian revolution in 1979 he saw action in the iran iraq war. in 1908 he became commander of the could force that conducts iran's clandestine and foreign military operations the us considered him a terrorist and blamed his could force for the deaths of hundreds of american soldiers so the money was especially active in iranian operations against rebel groups in syria against the so-called islamic state and supporting shiite militias in iraq over the years the survived a number of scrapes with death including an airplane crash in 2006 and a bombing in damascus in 2012 he was 62 years old when an american missile killed him in baghdad. so i mean. how much of a blow is this not for iran i think. he's one of the main figures for the iranian operation outside the border outside iraq and i think he is a legend inside iraq iran and also some wealth iraqis i think the question about the act of iran will be in a way that. thinks will change his targets and i think the day today is big different from to morrow for the iranian i think. the decision wi

have pictures of the ayatollah looking at a screen is these missiles that are being fired from iraq from iran into iraq so without a doubt that was happening so i think it's reciprocal and also just rely on the director of the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma spoke to us and explained why he believes iran won't give in to the u.s. pressure. iran is committed to escalating. zarif the foreign minister and others made it very clear months ago. that iran could not afford to capitulate to the united states because they believe the united states wants regime change and would crush them so they have to escalate ever since president trying to scuttle the you know there has been a steady chip for escalation and that you know neither side can afford to give in because oh look weak the leaders of both sides have committed to this escalation and isc it's hard to see how it how it gets you know where the off ramp means and how people can deescalate you can quibble about what kind of government iraq has and certainly there are some iraqis who are happier today than they were und

are in the majority in iraq just as they are in iran but the u.s. has a huge military presence there as well and current tensions are changing the dynamic in the region and u.s. influence in iraq could be the collateral damage. when a u.s. drone strike killed tehran's top military mastermind it didn't happen on iranian soil but in iraq the country was a target for general can seem so the money and the run in their master plan for the region to extend power using proxies. like the shiite militia that attacked the u.s. embassy many of these militant groups came to prominence during the fight against so-called islamic state shiite iraqis trained in iran who were central to defeating i-s. and many of them took their orders from sort of money. iraqi lawmakers call out no to america iran's influence pervades iraq's political class too in the 2018 elections $45.00 former shiite militiamen won seats in parliament that election also made a deal of the prime minister he was long a member of a shiite party based in iran abdul mahdi resigned after mass antigover

, you know, it appears that iran more or less in iraqrs that iran more oi’ less i’ui'is in iraq, you know, it appears that iran more or less runs iraq now which is something that most of us we re which is something that most of us were not aware of until this happened. and nobody knows what the reaction is going to be. interesting you mention the sunday times, because if you put those two up front pages together versus vulnerability at sea, vulnerability for british military presence on land and the sunday times describing them as trapped in a tinderbox, potentially vulnerable situation for them. in the sunday times also has them. in the sunday times also has the ankle about radcliffe who is a british, well, a dual national. iran does not recognise that. obviously one of the things that we british are interested in and one of the reasons why we want to d and split the tension as much as possible because she is facing even longer in jail she fears. those two front pages deal with the fallout and the consequences of this assassination, the

and iran on the brink of war but iraq is the battlefield so what lies ahead for a country already struggling with a string of domestic problems send your thoughts for today's show through twitter and you tube you could be it. iran's targeting of 2 iraqi military bases hosting u.s. troops has put the world on edge with fears that terrans revenge attack for the u.s. killing of its most important military leader who would escalate but it's a rock that's in the firing line and it already has enough problems thousands of people across iraq have worn seem solemn ali and an iraqi militia commander killed in a u.s. drone on tack on friday iraqis she apartment ariens have urged foreign troops to leave iraq a call the u.s. has rebuffed but iraq's politicians are still under pressure at home as demonstrators continue their push for major political and economic reform for more we're joined from the northern iraqi city of erbil by he we're awesome and he's a journalist and analyst also on the phone in baghdad we have ayman he has been part of the protests seeking government reform since october and we ar

joined iran's revolutionary guard after the iranian revolution in 1979 he saw action in the 8 year iran iraq war. in 1908 he became commander of the kids force that conducts iran's clandestine and foreign military operations. the u.s. considered him a terrorist and blamed his goods force for the deaths of hundreds of american soldiers so the money was especially active in iranian operations against rebel groups in syria against the so-called islamic state and supporting shiite militias in iraq over the years so the money survived a number of scrapes with death including an airplane crash in 2006 and a bombing in damascus in 2012 he was 62 years old when an american missile killed him in baghdad. so what happens next well to discuss that i get started back is here from the german institute for international security affairs and from deed of his at washington bureau chief alexandra fall naaman welcome both let's start with you alexandra previous u.s. presidents have considered and rejected attacking general salim mahdi the theater of the potential stale of escalation so why does this president

iraq relationship where it's tilting it's always been kind of push and pull between iran iraq and the united states in iraq where both are kind of the big players in iraq but we're talking more towards iran being more the let's say that iraq is more of a client state of iran and if the united states basically pushed out including the military presence in iraq that really changes the game for the united states there tyson thank you very much tyson barker from the aspen institute here in berlin thank you. now to australia where the government has pledged the equivalent of over a 1000000000 euros to help communities ravaged by catastrophic bushfires but prime minister scott morrison warned the fires could continue burning for months to cull at least 24 people have died and thousands of lost their homes the following report contains some disturbing images. it's a warning no one ever wants to hear we cannot guarantee your safety at present if you are by evil to feed to feed yourself mentally. or physically or take yourself or your hives. gayeties recommended that you leave. thousan

he was from a young age a passionate supporter of the iranian revolution he fought in the iran iraq war and made a name for himself as a general. at the end of the 9096 took command of the most important units of iran's revolutionary guard the could forces the elite created after the islamic revolution to protect the leadership. codswallop money as he was called by the regimes in a circle had many supporters not least among young people there were fan pages in his honor on social media and he enjoyed cult status among his supporters observers in iran say his killing amounts to a declaration of war. a war in iran has the ability to fight the u.s. and the americans know that if iran did not the u.s. would have attacked back in president bush's time but because america is worried about iran's reaction and knows that would be a massive response they have so far a boy did with iran the. tensions in the region have increased markedly with the killing of general salah money iran has already called on shia militias to be ready for war. we hoping to bring you now live pictures from baghdad where

this was so this is this you're thinking that in response rather than more firing there is this iraq iran iraq is going to try and squeeze america america's relationship with iran. iran with iraq the other way around yes indeed yes that will be the 1st step and i think it has already happened today so alexandra from naaman. let's take up that wider point on u.s. policy how does this attack by the united states fit into the wider frame of u.s. policy towards iran. well what has become clear and the last month is that iran has become the centerpiece of the u.s. foreign policy after pulling out of the iranian nuclear agreement which president trump considers the worst deal ever the year as reliance on sanctions trying to apply its maximum pressure campaign on iran even when iran was accused of shooting down an american drone even when iran was accused of launching an attack on saudi oil infrastructure but this makes moen pressure come pay and it was questioned by many and it didn't seem to be very successful so now apparently the yass administration decided that it is right and important to

lives are in directly have indirectly been lost attributable to iran action in iraq and other places and their proxies over the past decade or so of course the most recent incident was on december 27th but if you're looking at you know deescalation trying to bring iran back into the international community trying to denuclearize the region trying to create stability that allows for cleaning up what's left of isis clearly this is a setback ok thank you very much for not us and backer we'll be talking to you or disposed to donald trump has made his statement on these missile strikes with thank you very much for now that we did with some of the news around the was stopped staying with iran an earthquake has rattled iran's only nuclear plant the 4.9 magnitude struck only wednesday close to the city of sun it could be felt some 55 kilometers away at the bush at nuclear site. russian president vladimir putin has met. edge on to you know who create a new natural gas pipeline the pipeline opens up a new export path for russian gas and to to. the to the it is also expected to discuss middle ea

iraq? >> you have to remember that iran is iraq's neighbor so iran has had a long-term strategy to increasets influence inside iraq that perhaps got excessive. that's behind some of the protests to reduce iranian influence. but that relationship has always been there and what form it takes, it it waxes or wanes, possibly if you're u.s. officials you're looking at the u.s. response, the u.s. invasion, its commitment to the fight against isis and then its dialing down subsequently after that and seeing a less worthy ally. i think you'll be looking in the months ahead for lea complicate relationship. certainly the embassy has reduced its consular funks. to see the u.s. embassy under that kind of onslaught over the past week or so, so iraq certainly caught in the middle here. probably knows where its long-term destiny lies. that is complicated in itself because iran's influence is popular in parts of iran's population. but i think many here will be seeing how they can look for ways to tamp down and could further harm the position of the iraqi government and iraqi civilians here as well, but qui

the leader of iran's elite revolutionary guard in an air strike was in response to an attack in iraq in which a u.s. contractor died and for which the u.s. blames iran. and iran huge crowds have been in mourning and demanding revenge for solem of his death an immediate diplomatic solution to the crisis seems unlikely both sides have to be really through engage in diplomacy and right now i i fear that i do not see that i do not see either side the iranian or the american willing to do the things necessary to engage in diplomacy if. iran wants u.s. forces to permanently leave the gulf region and it says there will be a harsh response to any further u.s. retaliation rob matheson al-jazeera. was also jabari joins us now from tehran and there are some lots of reaction coming from iran today let's just start with jovan sorry for myself was he sends and the scorning. well the foreign minister was at the weekly cabinet meeting and i think his message was one that was shared by all the other cabinet members of president rouhani government and that is that this is a proportionate response and t

iraq war? >> we have been at war with iran since the invasion of iraq in 2003. i believe the strike against soleimani restored escalation dominance for the united states. it is clear iran to my estimation wanted to threaten nato, they needed to respond but didn't want to risk a punitive retaliatory action threatening iran's regime or survival and that is where we are today. i don't see it going in the way of a hot war at this point. we are a strategic possibly rob: let me pull headlines from an article in the wall street journal, when iran had somebody important taken out, in the past they have waited sometimes for months and have used terrorism to take out soft targets thousands of miles away. this is a direct response. it seems very cut and dry. is the scope of what iran will do to get even with us? >> as long as the iranian regime is in power we are a threat for them to launch terrorist attacks in the middle east and worldwide. they tried to target the saudi ambassador in the united states so they have some reach through their proxies including in the homeland

has no soldiers in iraq iran has no military bases in fact most of iran's relationship with iraq is tourism and trade and the americans are sanctioning anyone and everyone who carries out trade with iranian business men and women so that obviously makes iraqis even more angry because they are making the economic situation for the for the iraqi people more difficult just as iranians but most iraqis ignore the americans they continue to trade and they only hate the americans more for imposing their will on their people on the iraqi people at all levels whether it's through government whether it's through their military strike ok or whether it's imposing sanctions today's attacks though do they the sort of actions not prove that the iraqi government is not in control of its own country and for some time perhaps need stability and the stability that they've been used to comes from washington that they need that for a little while longer. well i think it's the instability that comes from washington when trump travels to iraq he travels without the permission of the iraqi prime ministe

iran is using this opportunity to make sure iraq is neutralized and would never again be a threat to iran. i want to add other things that dexter says that soleimani was iran's diplomatic region. soleimani met president of iraq and president of afghanistan. he met with putin and persuaded russia to enter the world in syr syria. he had a broad relationship in the region. he was putting together multiple iraqi governments. >> charles de gaulle once says the graveyards are filled with indespensible people. >> if assad falls, we can't hold teheran. it is that important to them. they'll carry on. is soleimani indespensible? will somebody come into fill in the gap? probably overtime but they are suffering right now. >> it is important to look at this from the other side's perspective. he has blood on his hands, american blood, absolutely true. and from the american's point of view, clearly a terrorist, i remember being in iraq in '03 and '04 and '05. remember, we are killing you guys but you are killing us. soleimani directing people who were trying to kill his guys. >> you know he was the

military circles in iraq and iran as well there are videos that circulate of him at his at that time in the battlefields in iraq in northern iraq and since then his relationship has only strengthened these said he had set himself in the past that the iranian outlook force had supplied military training and of weapons to various shia militias within iraq that are not part of the government as of 2018 so his relationship in iraq was not a secret it was not a hidden fact he was there at the request of the iraqi government he was there consulting various militias and military units and he was involved in the government in the process that was going on but the iranian position is that he was there at the iraqi government's request he wasn't asserting iranian influence inside iraq that is of course the view from here 'd but his presence in iraq and his views on him in the past few weeks in the months leading up to the protests that we've seen vary depending on where you go what you who you speak to but in general. the view from the islamic republic is that. he was a man who was there there

representative government a government that has not been installed by deals between iran and the united states so far in iraq since 2003 every prime minister we had there had to be an agreement between iran and between then and the united states over or at least neither sides shouldn't oppose and with this kind of since you in this kind of selection process whoever comes to power will be weak will be indebted to either to teheran or to washington and would they would not really have the interests of the country at heart as well as a priority as we have seen when the prime minister's yesterday he receives a phone call from the iranians that they are going to bomb and then you received another phone call from the americans he became like a phone operator this is not the job of a prime minister to receive phone calls and say i'm going i'm going to be bombing your country he should be having a much stronger stance he should not be listening to the hardliners or the pro the iranian militias who are bullying the political. process in iraq and trying to push things in there that action or in the direction of the sa

iran has. and it's demonstrated them before. iraq's prime minister calling the drone strike that killed soleimani a flagrant violation of conditions for the presence of u.s. troops in his country. meanwhile, american ally france says, quote, today we wake up to a more dangerous world. that can be agreed upon. joining me to discuss, barbara leaf, former ambassador to the uae and senior military analyst and retired general mark hertling. thanks to both of you. you have tremendous experience in the region at diplomats and soldiers. this is a threat not just to uniformed military in the region but americans whether civilians or diplomats serving abroad. what is the danger to them today, and what could be done today to protect embassies, diplomats and their homes, et cetera. what's your level of concern? >> well, look, in situations such as these, the -- normally the administration, the state department, along with other agencies sends out alerts in advance to missions they think are in harm's way to basically batten down the hatchs. as a n

iran is going to be part of iraq, and iraq is going to be part of iran.iran be part of iran. let me give you a very clearfuture. iran is not iran, it is iraq. how can i put it in words — you iraq is iran, yvonne is a rack. they have been like this for thousands of years, and the only mistake the president trump that was speed up the process of reunification of these two territories, and that is precisely what is going to happen, because both countries have shi'ite majority is, and the more than willing to... america has only two options, you that they can fight and make a loud noise, or they can just pack up and leave quietly. it is not totally up to the trump administration and the war party in washington. but that is the end of it. iran is not going to let america get away with it. speaking of top commanders, i think the biggest mistake that this government made, and the westerman government made, and the westerman government is making, they think that the freedom of this country depends onjust one that the freedom of this country depends on just one ge

them which provoked iran into bombing u.s. installations in iraq this week coming up on the show the beginning of the end for the u.s. as u.s. president backed down from. attack of its kind on u.s. . to the u.n. in geneva about how iran can now expel the united states from the middle east and ahead of the course end of hollywood's award season is the u.s. state sponsor of harassment the drove jean seberg to head death alive and well in hollywood we ask the director of a new film about the legendary actor starring says our award winner kristen stewart told a similar coming up in today's going underground 1st to iran's retaliation for donald trump's assassination of iranian soldier got some silly money who saved countless nato nation lives by defeating isis diana on wednesday it felt a lame duck u.k. labor leader jeremy coleman to answer prime minister's questions in britain this after boris johnson replied to his plea for government information about the assassination by saying i have carefully considered your request and do not believe it is necess

by iran on u.s. bases in iraqid said -- iran that they would limit the attack on u.s. positions. they also say that the prime minister of iraq is saying there are no casualties reported on the iraqi side or on the coalition side. let's get the initial source of the overnight develop its. -- developments. joining us on the set in london. these headlines still coming through. we just digest them now, who knew what when, and what kind of casualty toll are we going to see from this? suggestions are that there are limited casualties from this. if there are no casualties on the u.s. side, does the market participants -- do the market participants hope for a muted response for the united states? -- from the >> united states? we need -- >> we need to hear from the president. the other caveat is this is not going to be the end of heightened tensions between the u.s. and iraq. this is a new normal for the region, but similar to the old normal for the region. having said that, i think the market response is correct. allowing