Ayatollah called for attack on U.S. Embassy months ago

Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Wikimedia Commons)

Just two months ago, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, openly called on Iraqis to take over the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, notes an Iranian opposition activist.

President Trump has accused Iran of "orchestrating" the attack on the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday by dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters, who lit fires inside and chanted "Death to America" and "Allahu Akbar" before withdrawing.

Khamenei, in an Oct. 30 editorial in the Iranian daily newspaper Kayhan, urged Iraqis to take such action, pointed out M. Hanif Jazayeri of the London-based National Council of Resistance of Iran on Twitter.

The ayatollah wrote: "Why haven't Iraqi youths ended the presence of the US embassy in Baghdad? Why haven't you thrown out this infected wound from your holy land?"

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The attack came amid protests over U.S. airstrikes in response to an attack that killed an American contractor.

Jazayeri also noted that the leader of one of the militias involved in the raid Tuesday, Hadi Ameri of the Badr Corps, visited the White House under President Obama in 2011.

A FoxNews.com report in December 2011 said Ameri's presence was "alarming some who say Iraq's growing ties to Iran are among the most worrisome aspect of a U.S. pullout."

Did you know Badr Corps chief Hadi Ameri, who led today's raid on the US Embassy in Iraq, was once invited to the @WhiteHouse by @BarackObama?
FYI: Ameri & the Badr Corps get their salary & orders from Iran's dictator Ali Khamenei.

CC: @realDonaldTrump @VP @SecPompeo @PressSec pic.twitter.com/sEORXzSpNB

— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) December 31, 2019

Trump: Iran 'will be held fully responsible'

The U.S. has dispatched 100 Marines to the embassy in Baghdad to bolster security, said Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Meanwhile, a U.S. Apache helicopter gunship flew over the compound and dropped flares in a show of force to disperse the crowd, FoxNews.com reported.

President Trump issued a tweet blaming Iran.

"Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will," he said. "Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!"

Jihad Watch Director Robert Spencer spotlighted video of militia chanting "Allahu Akbar," meaning "Allah is greater," or "Allah is greater than your god."

"The demonstrators besieging the embassy," he wrote, "are proclaiming the superiority of Allah and Islam over the United States."

Hezbollah and militia now chanting “Allahu Ackbar” - US Embassy Baghdad pic.twitter.com/2gUxwZ9uC6

— Iraqi Mourner Poso 🇮🇶 (@JackPosobiec) December 31, 2019

Iraq: Airstrikes 'violation of sovereignty'

A State Department spokesman, in a statement, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "made clear" in phone calls with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and President Barham Salih that the United States "will protect and defend its people, who are there to support a sovereign and independent Iraq."

The spokesman, Morgan Ortagus, said the two Iraqi leaders "assured the secretary that they took seriously their responsibility and would guarantee the safety and security of U.S. personnel and property."

However, the Iraqi National Security Council has issued a statement condemning the U.S. airstrikes, regarding them as a "violation of Iraq’s sovereignty."

"This is a serious violation of the rules of engagement of the Coalition forces, including the US forces, in carrying out operations without the approval of the Iraqi Government," the statement said.

The Iraqi statement said the U.S. "relied on their own conclusions and political priorities, not the priorities as assessed by the government and people of Iraq."

Pompeo insisted on Twitter that the U.S. "responded defensively to the Iranian proxy attack that killed an American citizen" and wounded Americans and Iraqis.

Graham: No more Benghazis

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a Twitter thread that Trump acted "decisively," determining "there will be no Benghazis on his watch."

The reference is to the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the U.S. compound in Libya under President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in which four Americans, including the ambassador, were killed.