Died in a stampede at a funeral for cost them money in iraq. And we go on air with a developing story coming to us out of iraq a number of missiles we understand have been fired at multiple u. S. Facilities in iraq including the. Base which houses u. S. Forces irans state t. V. Is saying that tehran launched quotes tens of surface to surface missiles the white house says President Trump is being briefed and he is monitoring the situation the base there you can see it on our map its about equidistant between the iraqi capital baghdad and the border with syria our correspondent there was Osama Bin Laden joins us on the line from baghdad clearly its a way a ways from baghdad osama so maybe details a bit sketchy as of yet what do we know. So far weve spoken to multiple sources in iraq the Security Services at least one come on there from the hashish are the proper Mobilization Forces to confirm that a good team if i have landed. Landed in the. Base not just the coalition of them. We are getting more detail. Here and thats what i know that is one of those import duties to go. From a lot of flights to try it out for their combined joint Task Force Operation and 100 trees all the coalition because form to fight isis we have reports about. Which you have the advantage but again these are initial reports which havent been confirmed there are a number of u. S. And coalition facilities dokic through. The coalition for operations against isis and you get to this attack there had to be warnings to be issued. For this. To determine the consequence to do. With the from. The comedian who could also be transferred to quit this base osama would it be a particularly easy target to identify. Absolutely it is the strong compound which is before saddam the same time and equipped acquired by the u. S. Led coalition. Not to be operation be to it given operation before going to you may have been withdrawn and then being turned 14 when the u. S. Forces are going back to iraq the. Runways and the. Number of bigger operations especially Tactical Operations require reconnaissance to be along Strong Enough and because it is located in a strategic location a number of problems on the difficult support which would be. Going in from iraq. Would have to make. It had. It does have multiple. Including command. So it isnt important. It is because it is. You could start over from a crew. On and. It could be difficult to find out so far it is not confirmed what kind of defense capability. Has some kind of back to order. Side of it is not clear whether. Or not but what has been confirmed by iraqs forces is that. And what. They think they are wrong rather is that they launched. This base the staff on the base they must have i guess been living in an atmosphere of expecting Something Like this pure speculation of course but maybe they were able to put into effect some sort of Quick Reaction mechanism or procedure in anticipation of this. Absolutely not just drifting across the bases in iraq. The us Security Forces are on the state of high alert we have heard from. Is the Coalition Forces. And dissipating some sort of reaction. Into the mine Disaster Mission so yes there have been steps that is needed in the last 24 hours the script on the long haul for almost 3 hours cause a constant traffic for helicopters richard stop. Getting that now it has the room. Moving the area not just iraq but u. S. Coalition security event that they are to be valued to make sure that there. Is and then there is the mission. But again it is not knowing what kind of evaluation it is going. To come from the mainland iran may be going to come from one of the proxy that iran has been very good as a big to be a ground attack. Anyone that had. Conceded we would have required some planning on their part but this is something that all Security Forces including there are for to be anticipated from the manuscript osama will come back to you in the meantime thank you very much must talk to us a big hes a correspondent joining us the line from tehran so i asked the g. C. What are they saying. We came on wrong. And then. Well im very distant. And not remembering gone the wrong. Host not with. Any spunk and not. Moving on will respond. To the schools. Mobutu not. The normal movements think its. Going to come in the. Region that holds nothing. Against iraq as well and well talk a source. Said gratian to my calculation when most of the money. Youre on. That the some of the. General costs of a months. Responded to cry for revenge excess a good question. From the. United states which remember. The wrong. Motions. The population. Back on the streets for them for revenge. Just said that weve always done. The good much or when and if its. Done good luck if by wrong respondents to defect to mention the problems of a moments peace the revolutionary god assets saying where these missiles were fired from pole can we speculate where they were fired from. At the moment i dont know where they will find some. Its not they could have been there on the credit for more of a proxy of iran as far as why not its difficult to tell but we do know iran have been attempts to talk with. Iran will have. To have. Iraq so its not a question of whether iraq had. 200. Did it on their own very suitable. Aircraft or drones and even in the last year that shocked us americans really. Part of this is a source a source of pride for all but they had some guy on american soldiers in the room moments ok i think lewis will come back soon i suspect in a couple of minutes the pentagon being quoted by the Reuters News Agency saying its clear that these missiles were launched from iran lets take this evolving story for you as we continue to look at these brave breaking pictures as well on this developing story told john hendren whos in washington so john we understand the u. S. President mr trump being briefed as we speak. Thats right President Trump has been briefed we have a statement from the white house saying that they are monitoring events from the white house that was from Stephanie Grisham the press secretary we also have a statement right now that we just received from the Defense Department saying that these missiles were clearly raunch launched from iran this statement says at approximately 5 30 pm Eastern Standard Time in the u. S. Iran launched more than a dozen Ballistic Missiles against u. S. Military and Coalition Forces in iraq it is clear that these missiles were launched from iran and targeted at least 2 Iraqi Military bases that means its not just the assad base that we have been talking about it is another base as well and i can tell you from covering the pentagon for many years and having been inside that al assad base that osama was right that is a huge sprawling base there are many targets because it is strategically located near the center of iraq it is a transportation hub for fuel and supply trucks is also a place which helicopters would ferry troops from baghdad and elsewhere into Anbar Province there in the western part of iraq in the last time i was there many years ago there were also multiple fast food restaurants gyms swimming pools its a massive complex a big base like you would have in the u. S. Or elsewhere but just hundreds of or possibly even thousands of troops there so there are plenty of targets and what those people will be doing in that base right now is they have a Security Center with cameras that ring the base in that were looking at those cameras and they have other devices that can look for the origin of an attack that is probably what theyve done here to find out if those missiles came from iran so now theyll be looking at radar satellite feeds trying to determine the origin and pinpoint exactly where those rockets were fired from and once theyve done that they can either choose to retaliate later or they can retaliate immediately which is something. They do from time to time there so this is what we have not heard is anything about casualties we have confirmation that theres been an attack we can expect that because that base was on high alert people would be Walking Around with flak gear and helmets equipment would be protected but that base is an isolated spot and its very possible that we could have some injuries or even deaths there and this is precisely the kind of retaliation that the president the defense secretary the secretary of state in the past 24 hours in all warned against ok stay with us john please to earlier mr trump said the killing of saddam ani quote saved a lot of lives in many countries of thanked him he claimed he said he was planning imminent attacks with more details to be revealed to congress on weapons day we had tremendous information weve been following for him for a long time and we followed his path for those 3 days and they were not good steps we didnt like where he was stopping they were not good stops we saved a lot of lives hes been called a monster and he was a monster and hes no longer a monster hes dead and thats a good thing for a lot of countries and he was planning a very big attack in a very bad attack for us and other people and we stopped him clearly john we tape that everyone take the sun but there from mr trump inside the oval office flanked by the greek premier. That predates what is going on on the ground at this base however at that News Conference mr trump also at pains to basically row back on his stated position of having identified 52. 00 targets for the 52 hostages taken and held in the u. S. Embassy in the iranian capital tehran 40 years ago. Thats right the president had tweeted out several days ago exactly what you said there were 52. 00 targets and he said among those targets were iranian cultural sites and he said he would hit those sites if the iranians retaliated against the United States didnt say how many he would choose among them but he specifically singled out cultural sites and that is under a 1954 Hague Convention a violation of International Law so the defense secretary was asked about this on monday and mark asked for said i will obey the laws of Armed Conflict ask again does that mean you will not strike these sites and he said that is the law of Armed Conflict apparently that message got translated to President Trump so on tuesday the president himself backed off that is well he said it was unfair that he couldnt target those sites because american troops are being hit by roadside bombs and rockets in iraq according to him by iranian militia members and he thought that it would be fair to target those sides but he said if that is the law we wont do it ok lets have a listen to what mr esper has been saying john as well let me reiterate that the United States is not seeking a war with iran but we are prepared to finish one we are seeking a diplomatic solution but 1st this war require iran to deescalate it will require the regime to come to the table with a go a preventing further bloodshed. And it were quire them to cease their malign activities throughout the region as ive said were open to having this discussion with them but were just as prepared to deliver a forceful response to defend our interests. Ok john so in so a kind of a cascade of sun bites from what 4 or 5 hours ago mr s. But theyre talking about a diplomatic solution with the revolutionary guard to tehran taking credit for having fired up to 13 missiles at this base that when discussing halfway between baghdad on the border with syria difficult to see any window of opportunity here for diplomacy its true esper did say that he expected iran to retaliate the question is does this cross that threshold that he was warning against that could escalate this conflict into something closer to a hot war right now theyve had rockets fired at these bases before that far as i know its different to have them identified as being fired from to iran that will likely be considered a major provocation exactly what the u. S. Doesnt response we dont know but this is what esper was warning about earlier today earlier on tuesday pompei o and trump shining in as well they had a coordinated message from the administration basically 2 points one that they were justified in killing consummate sulaimani the iranian general and 2 that that wasnt enough to prompt iran into war so they were warning iran that any retaliation had to remain below a certain level a level that they did not identify ok john well talk to you in a bit im sure lets bring in a special also donna hes a retired iraqi Brigadier General and formally an Iraqi Defense attached to the United States he joins us from manassas in virginia ismael also tony good to talk to again sir so the revolutionary guard laying claim to 13 rockets being fired into this. The base they said they would retaliate it looks like theyre doing it. Yeah exactly this is expected because this time i think the strike has hit iranian directly from the americans and their poor i think the iranians are kicking their credit to hit back directly they wouldnt even leave their proxies to deliver the message that the americans that is a spectacle and by the way its kind of saving face order for them because killing so they money is. An insult from the americans to iranian establishment to iranian estate as all and therefore i think iranian has to retaliate i mean they are they are compelled to retaliate in a way. Where be selecting the targets would be. With the same. Order the size of work killing soleimani going to be impacted as well as what has impacted on iran so if iran has selected this option but i dont think this is going to be. The only retaliation from iran ok when it comes to that idea of it not being the only retaliate we do have one unconfirmed report saying that a 2nd base has also come under attack in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of kassam cinema Army Everyone was saying the same thing and it was this iran doesnt have the military where with all to sustain asymmetrical states of war against the United States simply cant do it but it can sustain some sort of asymmetric campaign perhaps including going for bases such as the base were now discussing so is this the beginning of a quote war between iran and the United States on iraqi territory. Well the conflict has already been begun in air and on and on iraq between the United States. Iran iran has proxies and they were delivering always the message to on iraqi soil to americans who are supporting the iraqi forces but. I think this time its different than other time the killing as they said the killing of journalists are they money was an insult to the iranian so the eyes are metrical where for that that we we are expecting is not going to be. In a way to prevent to show we cannot to prevent this kind of where prayer. By any means even by the primitive means i dont think show iranian would be accepting to sit on the table to negotiate any kind of resolution or compromise with the americans. Iranian also well give the liberty or the freedom to the proxies and the region to retaliate in a way they selected so its. For me i think this is the most they can do they dont want to go in and no war we can say a war that is a comprehensive for a conventional war with the americans because they are unable to do the show but also i think americans also do not want to go to the war because this is important the war can be easily started but no one can have the decision to end the war. Thats interesting that you say that because thats diametrically opposite to what mr esper the u. S. Defense secretary was saying he was saying we dont want to start a war but we will end the war or a war with iran but given given the place that you had on the periphery of that Decision Making process in the United States or to is the process that theyre going through now if theyre deciding to react or to retaliate and what kind of targets would they go for if theyre not going to go for you know what mr trump was talking about 3 days ago cultural sites. It depends on the impact and the result of this kind of attack if that attack would be a result of heavy casualties on the americans theres the would be the retaliation Something Different there would be no casualty is its only minor casualties or materiel its thick casualties then there. Will be different also so it depends on the evaluation ofter math of the attack and how the american would be reacting towards this kind of attack so in my fist back to that. Americans will favor to the escalation this situation because i think their forces in iraq are vulnerable there are a lot so you know nona state actors could deliver the message or deliver the reaction and that would be causing a lot of kids realty is maybe and therefore i think. United states will go for the us collation the situation ok michelle so danny thank you so much for joining us there from virginia on skype lets just pause for 15 seconds 20 seconds just to get you right up to date as to whats happening in looking at its on a loop it doesnt make particular exciting Television News i know but these are the very latest pictures of what we understand is going on iran has launched missile strikes aimed at u. S. Troops in iraq in what it said was retaliation for the killing last week of custom so the money were showing you pictures of whats going on overnight local time at the al Assad Air Base is in the Anbar Province of iraq it hosts a big u. S. Contingent it was hit at least according to one report 6 times another report saying 9 times one report that we al jazeera have got is talking about 13 missiles having being fired. Irans i. R. G. C. Thats the Islamic Revolutionary guard corps claiming responsibility they issued a statement to read it to you the brave soldiers of the seas Aerospace Unit have launched a successful attack with tens of political missiles on our military base in the name of martyr general cost some money lets bring in some a binge of aid correspondent in baghdad who joins us on the line from the iraqi capital osama so details still coming through all the time. Yes peter in the last 15 minutes weve heard a confirmation from the northern Iraqi Kurdish region that multiple missiles have landed in you this is coming from sources close to the government in the kurdish region of iraq so this is the 2nd look which has been hit by these missiles that have been fired from iran we know that via the news agency as well as other official News Agencies in iran that multiple missiles have been fired at least 13 according to iraqi Security Forces have landed in the in the base multiple have landed in or been so far we dont know about casualties or damage but these missiles have cost according to the steam agency a 2nd wave of missiles has also been launched so it looks like it is a sustained attack which is happening on iraqi targets here Coalition Targets rather here in iraq it is coming from iraq it is interesting that iran has chosen that it is going to be launching the attack itself there was a lot of fear here that iranian proxies would be used perhaps in the region there was a lot of speculation about ground attacks and so for Coalition Forces have been hunkering in in various bases weve seen a lot of movement in the last 24 hours in the green zone as well where there d was multiple helicopters which traveled back and forth from the green zone this was happening right around the time when the letter was released by iraqi sources about the United States confirming that has been drawing from iraq which was later redacted by the by the defense secretary in the United States so here here is what we know so far that base has been hit ever been has been hit nor word yet on how what sort of damage to facilities or infrastructure has been caused emulous a base in itself is a sprawling con complex weve weve seen multiple facilities. Who have been there especially after the fall of beisel had been in the last few months there was a very relaxed atmosphere there you could go there you could play games with sport with the troops there it is a very important logistical smack in the middle of the rock because if you were to take any logistical supplies with it it was heavy equipment or refueling youd have to stop at the base there it was one of those locations where we stopped on our way to the czech post and crime was the area where this all started to kick off when the United States attacked has been there has been a brigades group on the iraq syria border in retaliation to an attack that it accused dont get that has been in cook after that to be so that hizbullah and the popular Mobilization Forces joined together and attacked the u. S. Embassy compound then on friday it culminated in the assassination of simpson in my knee and it made the in mind this who was the 2nd in command of the popular Mobilization Forces just as youre talking to osama giving us the backstory on the nature of this particular base i see this a pentagon statement has dropped now as well saying theyre basically in to an assessment procedure on this space but theyre also talking about looking after the u. S. Military coalition personnel. And bill now when they talk about. Bill of the talking about 2 different bases on the ground or are they conflating 2 different locations into one big potential target. These are 2. Completely different locations is the capital of iraqs northern iraq. Semi autonomous kurdish region where u. S. Forces are based there d is a massive presence there where operations inside syria especially are carried out from below where there is a presence of u. S. Forces near the airport as well where the majestical support as well as military support is carried out you must remember as well that all of the troop movements which were happening inside syria were being carried through erbil it wasnt coming from. From turkey in the base but rather on the ground movements were happening from there has significant presence of u. S. Forces and air assets as well so yes theyre being is would probably be a target for the Iranian Forces if they wanted to hit Coalition Targets and then a few 100 miles away id say is this base. In the province province yes it is. North central iraq but it is very significant and these are completely different locations on the video the troops weve been hearing warnings weve also heard from mark us saying that the commanders on the ground are taking particularly. The kind of steps that they need when he was asked about whether the threat level was that c. Or d. Because those are signaling the kind of preparedness that each base needs to be at and something that weve seen on the ground as well especially during the fight against us and if you were at a forward for Forward Operations base that you would you would know on the base immediately brought the threat level was that would mean whether you could be in your civilian clothes whether you would be allowed to take your security gear off would you. Be able to take your helmets off or would you have to keep all of your gear on even when you sleep so there was a level of security there was a security alert and level of preparedness you would imagine at all of these facilities across iraq end of the said is not the only base there are other bases and Forward Operations bases across iraq where there is a presence of not just u. S. But Coalition Forces as well for some of stay close lets go back to washington and john hendren is our correspondent monitoring all the political and military developments of the back of the events at the base and also now we understand although the iranian authorities the revolutionary guard have not spoken about this specifically or some are making the point the talking about bill which is 800 miles away from the al assad base or looks like there is a 2 pronged attack has gone on is it still going on john hendren we dont know but to go directly for u. S. Interests on the ground in iraq on the part of the iranians thats quite a bold move because there had been a supposition that they might go for something you know wrapped up in the word proxy. It is this is a bold target its very bold that iran has said that those those rockets were launched from iran itself you might have expected in the past for these militia troops on the ground iranian militia troops to be attacking those bases but this is a very clear message from iran and we did just get confirmation from the pentagon that erbil was a 2nd site being struck and so we now have confirmation from the u. S. That there are 2 bases and what theyll be doing is hardening their bases all over iraq to the extent that they havent so far as weve been discussing before those bases were already on high alert people were going around in helmets at that al assad base for instance all of the time when helicopters take off at night they do so in the dark without light so that theyre not easy targets there was a time when planes would would come to the major bases in iraq that they would do socalled corkscrew landings so that they would minimize their exposure on the way down but this is precisely the kind of provocation the pentagon was expecting maybe a little bolder in scale than they had expected previously but it is exactly the kind of thing that the president that the defense secretary and that the secretary of state here in the United States have been warning against the question now is what will they do to retaliate we know the white house is monitoring these events they have been briefed the pentagon had apparently closed early for snow but there are now people there meeting in secure areas presumably talking about what the response would be of course the u. S. Central command will be