Missile strikes inside US embassy compound in Baghdad as Trump’s Iran war spirals: Live Updates

Italy has withdrawn its troops from Iraq following a drone attack at Camp Singara on Thursday.

Italian troops have gradually been leaving the Middle East but an attack in Iraqi Kurdistan has made the exit more urgent with Iraq increasingly becoming a flashpoint in the conflict.

More than 300 troops have been stationed in Iraq but around 100 have now returned to Rome, the Wall Street Journal is reporting

Italy has also pulled back smaller military units from Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

No Italian troops were injured in the attack on Camp Singara where a restaurant and two vehicles were destroyed.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has previously said she has no intention for Italy to join the war in Iran.

Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani has taunted Donald Trump in a live interview in Tehran as Israeli airstrikes rain down on the Iranian capital.

Larijani has joined thousands of demonstrators at a Quds Day rally in the city despite fresh Israeli attacks launched earlier today.

While being interviewed, Larijani says Israeli attacks during the demonstrations show Israel’s weakness and confusion.

‘These attacks are out of fear, out of desperation. One who is strong wouldn’t bomb demonstrations at all. It’s clear that it has failed,’ Larijani said.

Striking a defiant tone, he said Donald Trump ‘doesn’t understand that the Iranian people are a brave nation, a strong nation, a determined nation. The more he presses, the stronger the nation’s determination will become.’

Yesterday, Larijani said Trump would be ‘sorry’ for his ‘grave miscalculation’ after the President declared the US had won the war.

An Ohio Air Force soldier has been named as one of the six US servicemembers who died when a refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq this week.

Tyler Simmons, 28, was one of the three National Guard Airmen from Ohio involved in the deadly crash aboard a US KC-135 plane that went down on Thursday.

All six members on board perished from the crash, as the US-Israel war with Iran rages into its 15th day.

‘We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Tyler Simmons, whose life was taken far too soon in a recent accident in Iraq,’ Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther wrote on Facebook.

Donald Trump posted a video clip showing military strikes by the US just hours after the attack on Iran’s Kharg Island, which he said earlier Friday the US had ‘obliterated.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for comment.

The US Embassy in Baghdad had renewed high warning levels for an attack just before a missile struck a helipad on the compound.

On Friday, the embassy renewed its Level 4 security alert for Iraq, warning that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups have previously carried out attacks against U.S. citizens, interests and infrastructure, and “may continue to target them.”

The projectile landed within the embassy’s boundaries after the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district in central Baghdad that houses Iraqi government institutions and foreign embassies, added the security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak with the press.

There was no immediate comment from the US Embassy in Baghdad.

The sprawling embassy complex, one of the largest US diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones in the past by Iran-aligned militias.

These groups have recently stepped up attacks on bases hosting US and coalition troops.

A drone strike in northern Iraq on Thursday killed a French soldier and wounded several others stationed there as part of an international coalition.

Donald Trump decried the media refusing to accept the successes of the war on Iran before suggesting the regime wanted to make a deal.

The president made the declaration in a late night post to his Truth Social account.

‘The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal – But not a deal that I would accept! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.’

A missile struck a helipad inside the US Embassy in Baghdad, two security officials said.

The projectile landed within the embassy’s boundaries after the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district in central Baghdad that houses Iraqi government institutions and foreign embassies, added the security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak with the press.

Video obtained by the Associated Press showed smoke billowing from inside the compound.

The sprawling embassy complex, one of the largest US diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones in the past by Iran-aligned militias.

These groups have recently stepped up attacks on bases hosting US and coalition troops.

A drone strike in northern Iraq on Thursday killed a French soldier and wounded several others stationed there as part of an international coalition.

Iran’s parliament speaker warned on Thursday that attacks on the Persian Gulf islands on Iran’s southern maritime frontier would provoke a new level of retaliation, underscoring how central they are to the country’s economy and security.

In a social media post, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Iran “will abandon all restraint” if the islands come under attack and said Trump will be responsible for “the blood of American soldiers.”

Although they account for only a small share of Iran’s territory, the islands carry outsized importance because of their oil facilities and strategic location.

The small coral island about 21 miles off Iran’s coast is the primary terminal through which nearly all of Iran’s oil exports pass.

Iran has exported 13.7 million barrels since the war started, and multiple tankers were seen on satellite imagery Wednesday loading at Kharg, according to TankerTrackers.com, maritime intelligence company.

Iran gets a significant share of its $78billion a year in revenue from oil, with shipments flowing to countries like China. A strike on Kharg would not only damage Iran’s current government but also could undermine the viability of whatever might eventually replace it.

Kharg Island, Qeshm Island, and the tiny islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb carry outsized importance because of their oil facilities and strategic location.

“A direct strike would immediately halt the bulk of Iran’s crude exports, likely triggering severe retaliation,” JPMorgan said in an investment note this week.

In an interview with Brian Kilmeade recorded Thursday and aired Friday morning, President Donald Trump became defensive when asked if he was ‘thinking about taking Kharg Island,’ which he later Friday claimed the US military ‘obliterated.’

US Central Command accused the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of lying about having destroyed the USS Abraham Lincoln.

‘The IRGC is again claiming they’ve rendered the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) inoperable. This is after they’ve previously claimed to have destroyed it multiple times,’ they said in a statement.

They added that the USS Abraham Lincoln ‘continues to dominate Iranian airspace from the sea.’

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine revealed that three of the six service members killed on the US military refueling jet were from his state.

‘I have been advised by Ohio’s Adjutant General that three of the six servicemembers killed during the air refueling mission in Iraq were Ohioans deployed with the Ohio Air National Guard’s 121st Air Refueling Wing,’ DeWine wrote on X Friday.

‘Fran and I are deeply saddened by this news and offer our sincere condolences to their families.’