President Donald Trump is set to address the nation on Wednesday, January 8 with a speech about the ongoing tensions in Iran after the United States carried out a targeted airstrike that killed top commander Qassem Soleimani and his associates. Iran retaliated on Tuesday, January 7 by firing missiles towards military airbases in Iraq — most notably Ayn al-Asad Air Base.
Luckily, there were no casualties despite multiple airbases being hit by Iran’s response.
Trump will now address the country and comment on Iran’s retaliation with a speech at 11:00 a.m. ET, according to a statement from the White House. The speech will be live-streamed online on NBC News’ YouTube page and C–SPAN.
You can watch the speech live in the video below:
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the missile strike was “self-defense” and that Iran does not seek escalation or war, but they did warn that the country would defend itself against further U.S. aggression.
“Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched,” Zarif wrote on Twitter. “We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.”
Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched.
We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 8, 2020
There have also been reports that Iran could retaliate with hacking or cybersecurity strikes.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a statement last summer warning of cybersecurity threats from Iran.
Iranian attacks could focus on U.S. banks, casinos, and other entities. As recently as Saturday, Iranian hackers claimed to hack the home page of the U.S. Federal Depository Library program with a photo showing Donald Trump being punched in the face by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard as blood pours from his mouth.
“We are aware the website of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was defaced with pro-Iranian, anti-US messaging,” a spokesperson for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Sara Sendek, said, via CNN. “CISA is monitoring the situation with FDLP and our federal partners.”
What exactly comes next remains to be seen, but tensions continue to rise and U.S. troops in the area will have to be on high alert.
