Trump says Iran is ‘standing down’ after strike

Speaking from the White House, US President Donald Trump has said Iran “appears to be standing down” after it fired missiles at air bases housing US forces in Iraq, triggering further tensions between Iran and the US.
Trump said no US or Iraqi lives were lost in the 8 January attacks at the Irbil and Al Asad bases, which Iran said were a retaliation for last week’s assassination of top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. He added that “the American people should be extremely grateful and happy no Americans were harmed”.
Trump also called Soleimani “the world’s top terrorist”, that “should have been terminated long ago”.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the missiles a “slap in the face” for the US, adding that more was to come.
“We’re receiving some encouraging intelligence that Iran is sending messages to those very same militias not to move against American targets or civilians, and we hope that that message continues to echo”, said US Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump also announced “punishing economic sanctions” against the Iranian government.
After the strike, Iran’s state television announced the country will no longer abide by any of the limits of its 2015 nuclear deal.