(Adds U.S. comments to the United Nations)
* Iranian missiles hit bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq
* Tehran says attack is retaliation for general's killing
* Iran's Zarif says 'we do not seek escalation or war'
* U.S., European sources say Iran deliberately missed
* Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/35DS8dy
By Jeff Mason, Ahmed Aboulenein and Parisa Hafezi
WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD/DUBAI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - President Donald
Trump on Wednesday tempered days of angry rhetoric and suggested
Iran was "standing down" after it fired missiles at U.S. forces
in Iraq, as both sides looked to defuse a crisis over the U.S.
killing of an Iranian general.
Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to hit
back after Iran's attack on military bases housing U.S. troops
in Iraq, itself an act of retaliation for the Jan. 3 U.S. strike
that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. said no Americans were hurt in the overnight attacks.
The Pentagon said Iran had launched 16 short-range ballistic
missiles, at least 11 of which hit Iraq's al-Asad air base and
one that hit a facility in Erbil but caused no major damage.
"The fact that we have this great military and equipment,
however, does not mean we have to use it. We do not want to use
it. American strength, both military and economic, is the best
deterrent," Trump said.
"Our great American forces are prepared for anything. Iran
appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all
parties concerned and a very good thing for the world," he said.
Trump said the United States "will immediately impose
additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime"
in response to what he called "Iranian aggression." He offered
no specifics.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, addressing a
gathering of Iranians chanting "Death to America," said the
missile attacks were a "slap on the face" of the United States
and said U.S. troops should leave the region.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had said the strikes
"concluded" Tehran's response to the killing of Soleimani, who
built up Iran's network of proxy armies across the Middle East.
He was buried in his hometown, Kerman, after days of national
mourning.
"We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves
against any aggression," Zarif wrote on Twitter.
Influential Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who casts
himself as a nationalist rejecting both U.S. and Iranian
interference in Iraq, also said the crisis Iraq was experiencing
was over and he urged militia groups not to carry out attacks.
"I call on the Iraqi factions to be deliberate, patient, and
not to start military actions,," said Sadr, whom Washington has
long regarded as an Iranian ally. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told CBS News in an interview
the United States was receiving "encouraging intelligence that
Iran is sending messages" to its allied militias not to attack
U.S. targets. But Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint
Chiefs of Staff, said he and others in the military "fully
expect" Shi'ite militia groups in Iraq, backed by Iran, to carry
out attacks against U.S.-led forces in Iraq and Syria.
Two rockets fell on Wednesday in Baghdad's heavily fortified
Green Zone, causing no casualties, the Iraqi military said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. In a letter to the United Nations Security Council on
Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft said the killing of
Soleimani was self-defense and vowed to take additional action
"as necessary" in the Middle East to protect U.S. personnel and
interests.
The United States also stood "ready to engage without
preconditions in serious negotiations with Iran," to maintain
peace and security, she said. U.S. Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans said
administration officials had not provided evidence in classified
briefings to back up Trump's assertion that Soleimani had posed
an "imminent" threat to the United States.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the
Democratic-led chamber would vote on a resolution intended to
limit his military actions against Iran.
NUCLEAR DEAL
Trump's address contrasted with his recent harsh rhetoric.
The Republican, who was impeached in December and faces an
election in November, had vowed to respond "disproportionately"
if Iran retaliated strongly against Soleimani's killing.
On Wednesday, Trump again vowed he would not allow Iran to
obtain a nuclear weapon and urged world powers to quit a 2015
nuclear accord with Iran that Washington abandoned in 2018 and
work for a new deal, an issue at the heart of rising tensions
between Washington and Tehran. Iran has rejected new talks.
There was no immediate reaction from Iranian officials to
Trump's comments. The semi-official Fars news agency described
the U.S. president's remarks as a "big retreat from threats."
Soon after Wednesday's attacks, Trump had said on Twitter
that "All is well!" and Washington was assessing damage.
That tweet and the comment by Iran's foreign minister eased
some concerns about a wider war and calmed jittery financial
markets. U.S. stock prices hit record highs before paring their
gains, while world oil prices, after an early spike, fell about
4%. MKTS/GLOB
U.S. and European government sources said they believed Iran
had deliberately sought to avoid U.S. military casualties in its
missile strikes to prevent an escalation.
But an Iranian army spokesman denied "foreign media reports"
suggesting there was some kind of coordination between Iran and
the United States before the attack to evacuate bases.
Iranian television reported an official in the supreme
leader's office as saying the attacks were the "weakest" of
several retaliation scenarios. It quoted another source saying
Iran had lined up 100 other potential targets.
After the Iranian missile attack, state television showed
footage of the Soleimani burial, with hundreds of people
chanting: "God is greatest" when the strikes were announced over
loudspeakers. "His revenge was taken and now he can rest in
peace," Iranian television said.
Hours after the Iranian missile strike, a Ukrainian airliner
crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, killing
all 176 people on board. A Canadian security source said
Western intelligence agencies' initial assessment was that the
plane was not brought down by a missile. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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most expect war fires missiles at U.S bases in Iraq https://tmsnrt.rs/35DS8dy
HIGHLIGHTS-Trump addresses Iran situation ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>