U.S. lawmakers react to Iran missile strike
Republican Senator Thom Tillissaid the Iranian strike was "nothing new," while Democratic Senator Chris Coons said a wider conflict between the U.S. and Iran is "entirely predictable" in case of American casualties.
Another Republican senator, John Neely Kennedy, said Iran knew it cannot "go toe to toe" with the U.S. in a war.
On Wednesday (January 8), Iran launched "more than a dozen" ballistic rockets against two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. forces. The country said the strike was in retaliation to the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani, one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic.
The statement advised the United States to withdraw its troops from the region to prevent more deaths, state TV said.
The Pentagon did not provide reports of casualties in the attack. Hours earlier on Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said the United States should anticipate retaliation from Iran over Friday's killing in Iraq of Soleimani, commander of the elite Quds Force.
