Qasem Soleimani

Turkey has urged all the parties to refrain from throwing the already unstable Middle East, particularly Iraq, into a fresh ring of fire and underlined that it will work with Russia to defuse the regional tension after Iran's strike against U.S. bases in Iraq.

Iran is targeting more than 10 ballistic missiles on at least two airbases in Iraq, where US and coalition forces are based, the Pentagon said.

There are no casualties at the base so far, athough the Pentagon said it was still assessing damage from the strike.

'We are warning all American allies, who gave their bases to its terrorist army, that any territory that is the starting point of aggressive acts against Iran will be targeted,' Iranian National Guard said.
The Iranian Guard has also threatened to bomb Haifa in Israel and Dubai in the Emirates, the Daily Mail reported.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which claimed responsibility for the attack, said the attacks on the bases were "revenge for the killing of top Iranian General, the Quds Unit Commander Qasem Soleimani."

Turkey's president and the British prime minister on Jan. 8 discussed top international issues in a phone call, said the Turkish Presidential Communications Directorate on Jan. 8.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke about the current tension between the U.S. and Iran and other regional and international issues, particularly Libya and Syria.

Iran struck back at the United States early on Jan. 8 for killing a top Revolutionary Guard commander, firing a series of ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq that house American troops in a major escalation between the two longtime foes.

At least 50 people were killed and another 48 were injured during the funeral of the killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Kerman.

The victims were run over by a the crowd. Millions of people gathered in the city's central square for the final part of the funeral ceremony.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived today on an unannounced preliminary visit to Syria, where he met with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, TASS and the Associated Press reported.

Bilateral negotiations took place between the Russian and Syrian delegations.

Romania and Croatia said on Tuesday that they have joined other NATO countries in withdrawing military personnel from Iraq following the Baghdad parliament's call for foreign troops to leave the country in reaction to the US killing of a top Iranian general near the Iraqi capital on January 4.

The United States has declined to issue a visa to the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was scheduled to attend a UN Security Council meeting in New York on Thursday. This was reported by Reuters, citing a US official who requested anonymity.