TEHRAN - Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, said on Tuesday that the United States seeks to divert attention from 17 years of occupying Iraq and brutal killing of the Iraqi people by leveling accusations against Iran.

Following an attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran of being responsible for the attack.

“Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

According to the Daily Mail, Trump said on Tuesday that he thought there wouldn’t be war with Iran.

Angry protesters broke into the U.S. embassy compound in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Tuesday after smashing the main door and setting fire to a reception area, prompting tear gas and sounds of gunfire. The attack on the embassy took place after the U.S. launched air raids on positions of Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), killing at least 25 forces and injuring over 50 others in Anbar Province.

Also on Tuesday, Iraqis held a massive funeral procession in Baghdad for the victims of the U.S. air raids.

Takht-Ravanchi said that Popular Mobilization Units is an Iraqi group which is supervised by the Iraqi government.

He added that the group played an important role in fighting Daesh and its defeat in Iraq.

Iran warns White House of any ‘inconsiderate move’

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi has warned the White House of any miscalculation and “inconsiderate move”.

In a statement on Tuesday, he advised the U.S. to review its “destructive policies”.

“How do you expect the Iraqi people to keep silence over all these crimes?” he asked.

He said, “The United States has ignored freedom- and independence-seeking Iraqi people and has also supported Saddam [Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator] and has created Daesh. It [the U.S.] has forgotten killing and looting the Iraqis and seems to have forgotten that the Iraqi people are still under occupation.”

NA/PA