Two rockets explode near US Embassy in Baghdad with no casualties: report

At least two rockets have struck the area in Iraq’s capital city where the U.S. Embassy is held, the same day President Trump announced that Iran “appears to be standing down,” according to multiple reports.

Iraq’s military said the Katyusha rockets hit inside Baghdad’s Green Zone, a location that holds several Western nation embassies and businesses.

At least one of the rockets fell about 330 feet away from the U.S. Embassy, Reuters reported.

The attacks come a day after Iran claimed to have struck two Iraqi bases in an attempt to hit U.S. military personnel and targets.

Iraq’s military released a statement that said there were no casualties from the Baghdad strike.

The White House and Pentagon have not commented on the latest missile attack.

Trump earlier on Wednesday seemed to tout that Iran had backed off following the Tuesday night attacks on the two Iraqi bases and said that no American lives were lost.

He also announced that his administration would impose new “punishing” sanctions on Tehran until the regime changes its behavior. 

“Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world,” Trump said while standing in the Grand Foyer of the White House.

Trump’s comments signaled that he would move away from further military force against Iran following a Friday airstrike he ordered that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the nation’s elite Quds Force.

The Trump administration has defended the strike on Soleimani as a defensive measure and urged de-escalation, but the move quickly roiled tensions between Washington and Tehran and put the U.S. presence in Iraq on shaky ground.