Analyst calls Iranian strike 'the smallest attack'

January 07, 2020 11:00 pm • Last Updated: January 08, 2020 8:21 am

A protester waves the national flag while demonstrators set fire to close streets near Tahrir Square during a demonstration against the Iranian missile strike in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. Iran struck back at the United States early Wednesday 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. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — One analyst says Iran's missile strike against U.S. forces in Iraq was “the smallest attack that Iran could carry out while at the same time being able to say they got revenge."

Peter Viggo Jakobsen, an associate professor with the Royal Danish Defense College, added Wednesday that Iran has "done all that is possible to avoid American casualties. If what we hear is correct, they have warned the Americans in advance."

He told Denmark’s TV2 channel the Iranians are doing all they can to avoid an American military response as harsh as President Donald Trump has promised.

"I would be deeply surprised if the Americans choose to respond militarily again,” he said.

Mourners gather during a funeral procession for Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in the poster, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Basra, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. Thousands of people gathered in Basra on Tuesday to bid farewell to Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a senior Iraqi militia commander who was killed in a US airstrike on Friday. (AP Photo)

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