Iran sent warning to Iraqi PM before attack on military base in Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi received a verbal message from Iran after midnight warning of an imminent attack in response to Qassem Soleimani's killing, according to a statement published by the prime minister's media office.

The warning came before Iran launched an attack on US military and coalition forces in Iraqi bases, and said that the strike would be limited to areas where the US military was located without specifying the exact locations, the statement added.

As the missiles hit the bases, the statement said, Iraq had received a call from the US telling them that ballistic missiles hit Ain al-Assad Air Base in al-Anbar and other bases in Erbil. Abdul Mahdi said he would have warned Iraqi forces of an imminent attack as soon as he received word from Iran.

The missile attacks on US military and coalition forces in Iraq threatens a “devastating all-out war” in the country, the region, and the world, Abdul Mahdi said in the statement.

No casualties from the Iraqi and coalition forces have been reported, the statement said.

Abdul Mahdi has been keeping an eye on the developments, and is contact with all relevant parties in the region and around the world in an attempt to help de-escalate the situation.

The statement added that Iraq rejects any attack on its sovereignty and its land.