“All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning,” Trump tweeted.

Iran on Wednesday fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles from Iranian territory against at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US-led coalition personnel. The attacks targeted bases at Al-Asad and Irbil, Assistant to the Secretary of Defence for Public Affairs Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.

Iranian state TV said it was in revenge for the US killing of Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani, whose death last week in an American drone strike near Baghdad prompted angry calls to avenge his slaying.

It was not immediately clear what the extent of damage or casualties was at the bases, however Iranian state television claimed at least 80 “American terrorists” were killed, adding that none of the missiles were intercepted.

Germany, Denmark and Norway said none of their troops in Iraq were killed or injured.

FAA bans US airlines flying over Iraq, Iran and Gulf after missile attacks

State TV, citing a senior Revolutionary Guards source, also said Iran had 100 other targets in the region in its sights if Washington took any retaliatory measures. It also said US helicopters and military equipment were “severely damaged”. The Guard also threatened Israel.

Iran had taken “proportionate measures in self-defence,” Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted after the attack.

“We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against aggression,” Zarif wrote.

Iran’s Press TV said the crash was likely caused by mechanical issues. The crash occurred as the US Federal Aviation Administration barred US carriers from flying in areas of Iraqi, Iranian and some Persian Gulf airspace.

The agency warned of the “potential for miscalculation or misidentification” for civilian aircraft amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran.

Iranian official tweets link listing Trump’s properties

The missile launches apparently mark the first time Tehran has directly attacked US positions and openly acknowledged doing so. US officials have frequently accused Iran of being behind attacks on US forces in Iraq, but those assaults generally involved Iranian-backed militias, not Iranian security forces.

Earlier on Tuesday, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said the United States should anticipate retaliation from Iran over the killing of Soleimani.

“We’re prepared for any contingency. And then we will respond appropriately to whatever they do.”

Al-Asad airbase is in Iraq’s western Anbar province. It was first used by American forces after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

It later saw American troops stationed there amid the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Tuesday that Trump’s escalation of tensions with Iran proves him to be “dangerously incompetent” and puts the US on the brink of war.

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Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, said the US “must ensure the safety of our service members, including ending needless provocations from the Administration and demanding that Iran cease its violence.

“America and world cannot afford war,” she added.

Her Democratic House colleague Eliot Engel, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN however the attacks “could very well” mean that the US was at war.

“The president and his crew had better figure out a way to... tone down everything because we could be in the middle of a full-fledged war, and I don’t think that is something anybody wants,” he said.

Key facts about Al-Asad air base in Iraq, site attacked by Iran

Training

US troops have trained Iraqi troops at the base, located in Anbar province northwest of Baghdad, as part of Washington’s bid to build a force that could mount an offensive against Islamic State militants.

Aside from US and Iraqi forces, the air base has also hosted US-led coalition partners Denmark and the United Kingdom.

Base has hosted Trump

Over the Christmas holidays in 2018, US President Donald Trump stopped there and made remarks to troops during a surprise visit to Iraq, his first journey to a conflict zone since taking office in January 2017.

During Trump’s trip, he defended his decision to withdraw 2,000 troops from Syria. That policy shift sparked concern from allies and spurred James Mattis, his defence secretary at the time, to resign.

The base has been attacked before

In 2015, the base came under regular harassing mortar fire from Islamic State militants.

The same year, the airbase was attacked by 25 Isis fighters, but the Pentagon said at the time that Iraqi security forces guarding the perimeter killed most of the combatants.

Five rockets landed on the airbase last month but did not cause any casualties.

Reports circulated last week that the airbase had come under attack. Sources told Reuters, however, that reports of an attack on the base were false.