Iran is evidently not a fan of the failed nuclear talks, and decided to test Biden’s foreign policy resolve by launching missiles against the U.S. consulate in Erbil, Iraq last night.

Iran launched a dozen ballistic missiles at the Iraqi city of Erbil late Saturday night in the vicinity of an unoccupied American consulate under construction, according to the Associated Press.

In a statement released after the attack, the State Department said, “We condemn this outrageous attack and display of violence,” and confirmed that no U.S. personnel or facilities had been damaged.

Lawk Ghafuri, a spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government, confirmed that 12 missiles had struck Erbil and claimed that they had been launched “from outside Iraq” and produced no casualties.

Keep in mind that Iran stood to gain greatly with this Iran Deal. Per the agreement from the Biden Administration, Iran would’ve continued their nuclear build up, AND restart selling oil on the world stage! Yet, Russia’s demands led to the U.S. and others cratering the deal. 

Is that why Iran decided yesterday was a grand time to launch ballistic missiles directly into Erbil, Iraq? Is that why the targets were specifically the U.S. installations such as the U.S. Consulate that is currently under construction? 

Iran is a different animal altogether compared to Putin and Russia. Are they angry at Russia? Are they testing the Biden Administration to see how far they can go? 

https://twitter.com/AGHamilton29/status/1502781951668887553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1502781951668887553%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fbrettt-3136%2F2022%2F03%2F12%2Freport-multiple-long-range-ballistic-missiles-target-us-consulate-in-erbil-iraq%2F

Oh yes, I’d be willing to bet that Iran is most certainly testing the Biden Administration right now. However, I have to wonder what’s in it for Iran to pull such a move when talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia were scheduled for Wednesday this week. 

Iraq will host another round of talks between regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the foreign ministry in Baghdad said on Saturday, without giving further details.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein revealed the development during remarks at a diplomatic forum in Antalya on Turkey’s southern coast cited by local media. A foreign ministry spokesman confirmed the comments to Reuters.

The talks will be the fourth round hosted by Baghdad between officials from its two neighbours and mutual adversaries, according to local media.

Yet, mere hours after that announcement of the talks, Iran launched multiple missiles against Iraq and specifically targeted the incomplete U.S. consulate. So, are they thumbing their nose at Saudi Arabia, testing the Biden Administration, or both? 

Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attack, and semi official Iranian news outlets have instead amplified claims by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Fars News, which is close to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, tweeted out clips from Sabreen News, a popular Iranian-backed militia Telegram channel, which noted that security camera footage showed the missiles struck at 1:20 a.m., the same time that missiles from a U.S. drone killed Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. The caption said that the timing was “not accidental at all.”

Well no, if accurate on the timing of the missile strikes, then it’s evident that Iran holds a significant grudge. HOWEVER, as I noted above, Iran could also be testing the Biden Administration’s resolve.

In this case it would be, how would Biden act militarily if pushed to do so? A direct attack on a U.S. Consulate, even one under construction, is a major problem, one that has to be addressed with force. 

So again, is this Iran throwing a temper tantrum because Russia is tanking the deal? Why not go after Russia then? 

Or, is this another way to rattle the Biden Administration and end up having us trot out Kamala to issue arm-waving cackle platitudes? 

Well, given that this was the State Department’s Response…

White House: "We're busy finalizing the Iran deal, a major achievement of US diplomacy. It will stabilize the Middle East by sending 100s of billions of dollars to the IRGC. Don't disturb us with petty, bilateral Iran-KRG issues. Thanks for your interest in national security." https://t.co/qZBK6A6He5

— Mike (@Doranimated) March 13, 2022

Despite all the love we give, Tehran is just not that into us https://t.co/EcjIhLkEY7

— Mike (@Doranimated) March 13, 2022

We are well and truly HOSED on the foreign policy level. Which doesn’t bode well for us here at home. 

Again, Iran was about to have a meeting with Saudi Arabia to continue their discussions towards becoming better neighbors. Iran was ALSO about to make serious bank if the Iran Deal went through. Russia cratered that this last week. So, what does Iran do? Tests America’s foreign policy boundaries with missile attacks. And the response is?? ‘Meh, everything’s fine.’ 

The Russian-brokered Iran Deal on the table in Vienna includes lifting terrorism sanctions on Iran’s central bank, oil company, tanker company, petrochemical company & many more alongside removing the IRGC from the FTO list. Tonight should be a death knell for this horrible deal.

— Richard Goldberg (@rich_goldberg) March 13, 2022

Iran wants a deal in which that all parties except themselves, must adhere to the deal in perpetuity. Is launching rockets against a yet-to-be completed military installation persuasive? In a rational world, no. But we are in Biden World these days and anything could happen. 

Feature Photo Credit: ballistic missiles Iran flag, royalty free stock photo via Shutterstock, cropped and modified