Iran claims responsibility for blasts near US consulate in Iraq

Multiple explosions were reported near the U.S. consulate in the Iraqi city of Erbil, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claiming responsibility for missile attacks on what it claimed were Israeli "spy headquarters," according to state media.

"Ballistic missiles were used to destroy espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups in the region late tonight,” the Revolutionary Guard said in a statement Monday, according to Reuters. ABC News reported Iran had targeted eight locations near the U.S. consulate, with four people killed.

Erbil is the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, which Tehran claims is used as a staging ground by Iranian separatist groups and houses bases belonging to Israeli intelligence agency Mossad — which the Kurdistan regional government denies.

No Americans were among the casualties in Monday’s attack, and U.S. facilities weren’t impacted, Reuters reported.

Tehran also struck sites in Syria on Monday night, claiming it was targeting Islamic State militants in retribution for recent terror attacks in Iran. The strikes appear to be Tehran’s retribution for the two blasts earlier this month near the tomb of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in southern Iran, which were claimed by ISIS.