Iran has launched missile strikes against what they claim were an Israeli “spy headquarters” in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region – raising fears about a widening conflict in the Middle East
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Iran has attacked the home of a leading businessman in the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. The strike is stoking fears of a widening regional conflict as the war between Israel and Hamas continues, too. Iran claimed the seven missiles were aimed at a base for Israeli spy operations – a charge the Kurdish and Iraqi governments deny. NPR’s Jane Arraf has more on the fallout of the attack.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: The Kurdish city of Erbil is generally known as the safest city in Iraq – a place that bills itself to Americans and others as being open for business. Fueled by oil deals, the city is the most prosperous in the country, dotted with high-end restaurants and luxury high-rises. Late on Monday, Iranian missiles targeted the home of one of the main construction magnates behind that building boom, killing him and three other people, including his 11-month-old daughter and another prominent Kurdish Iraqi business leader. The prime minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, said he was shocked by the attack.
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PRIME MINISTER MASROUR BARZANI: What’s surprising, we are not a part of this conflict. We don’t know why Iran is retaliating against civilians of Kurdistan, especially in Erbil.
ARRAF: Iran accuses the Kurdistan Region of selling oil to Israel. Iraq doesn’t recognize Israel, and the Kurds deny the oil deals. The U.S. condemned what it called the reckless airstrikes. In Davos, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat down with Barzani to discuss the attack.
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ANTONY BLINKEN: It’s a challenging time for everyone.
ARRAF: A challenging time for everyone.
The missile strike…
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