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American President Donald Trump says the United States did not have to
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necessarily answer Iran's attack on American bases in Iraq.
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Speaking at the White House Wednesday, Trump said,
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"No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime...
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All of our soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases."
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The president added, "Our great American forces are prepared for anything.
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Iran appears to be standing down."
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Trump also said that the U.S. will place more economic sanctions on Iran.
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Trump's comment came after Iran fired 15 missiles
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at two airbases that house U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
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U.S. military officials said al-Asad and Erbil were targeted early on Wednesday.
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The missile attacks were in answer to the U.S. killing of
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Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week in Iraq.
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Iranian government media said the attacks killed 80 "American terrorists"
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and damaged U.S. helicopters and military equipment.
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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the attacks a "slap on the face"
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of the U.S. and said American troops should leave the area.
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Iran's foreign minister said the country's attacks were in self-defense
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and that Iran did not seek to increase hostilities.
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The Associated Press reported that Iran appeared to have warned about the strikes.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said Iran told him that the missile attacks
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"would start soon" and would target only on U.S. positions.
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The militaries of Finland and Lithuania also said they received information about a coming attack
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and had time to move to shelters or leave the base.
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Henry Rome is an Iran expert with Eurasia Group.
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He told the AP the attacks appeared designed to avoid human injury and any increase in hostilities.
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"For a president who wants to avoid a war in the Middle East during an election year,
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the Iranians have provided an off-ramp he will likely take," Rome said.
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Trump, who is facing reelection in November, has repeatedly said
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he wants to keep the U.S. from involving itself in "endless war."
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Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have increased since Trump's 2018 decision
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to withdraw the U.S. from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers.
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Last year, Iran shot down a U.S. military drone, seized several oil tankers
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and interfered with international ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
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The U.S. also blamed Iran for a September missile attack on a large Saudi Arabian oil processing center.
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Recently, a large group of protesters attacked the outer edge of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
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The embassy attack followed U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 Kataeb Hezbollah fighters,
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an Iranian-supported militia which operates in Iraq and Syria.
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The U.S. said it acted to answer the killing of an American defense contractor in Iraq.
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke to the Iranian cabinet after the strikes on American bases.
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He said, "if America commits a crime, no matter how much she threatens us,
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she must know that we will act decisively as we have already shown."
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I'm Ashley Thompson.
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Words in This Story
regime - n. a form of government
minimal - adj. very small in amount
sustain - v. to deal with or experience
stand down - phrasal verb, to leave a position
slap - v. to hit someone or something with an open hand
off-ramp - n. a short road that is used to slow down or leave
commit - v. to do something that is illegal or harmful