Update - Jan. 16, 8:30 am: U.S. officials have indicated no U.S. facilities were damaged in the attacks. 

A U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that had not been made public said the U.S. tracked the missiles, which hit in northern Iraq and northern Syria, and no U.S. facilities were struck or damaged in the attacks. The official said initial indications were that the strikes were “reckless and imprecise.”

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An Iraqi security official said Irbil was targeted with “several” ballistic missiles but did not give further details. An official with an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia said 10 missiles fell in the area near the U.S. Consulate. He said the missiles were launched by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

Original Story

In what is a massive escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, Iran reportedly launched an attack near the U.S. consulate in Northern Iraq on Monday. Several videos have gone viral claiming to show the moment of impact, though confirmation of their authenticity is still being gathered. The consulate was just one of eight different locations targeted, according to sources inside Iraq. 

Several explosions were reported near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Iraq, an Iraqi security source told ABC News.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps quickly took responsibility for the attacks, saying it was targeting the "headquarters of spies" and "anti-Iranian terrorist gatherings in parts of the region" with ballistic missiles.

Coalition forces also shot down three drones near Erbil airport in Iraq, the source said.

It is worth noting that some videos have already been debunked. For example, the following clip has gone viral claiming to be from the attack, but it is actually a 2022 video of a C-RAM intercept.

The moment ballistic missile pass through U.S C-RAM system and hit American bases in Iraq pic.twitter.com/HoR9NUvzTd

— TRACKER DEEP (@tracker_deep) January 15, 2024

Still, other videos do appear to be genuine, including these showing missiles being launched from inside Iran.

#BREAKING: It has now been known that #IRGC has launched its ballistic missiles at #Erbil, Northern #Iraq from cities of #Khorramshahr, #Kermanshah and #Tabriz in Southwest, West & Northwest of #Iran respectively. pic.twitter.com/ySQFQPNFZe

— Babak Taghvaee - The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) January 15, 2024

What makes this so unique compared to past attacks is that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has taken direct credit for the attack. Normally, you'd see these kinds of assaults carried about by Iranian-backed proxy militias, and Iran itself would be careful to not be caught with its hand on the button. In this case, the IRGC isn't leaving anything to the imagination, saying they were targeting "headquarters of spies" while striking at "anti-Iranian terrorist gatherings."

How will the Biden administration respond to this? This is a serious provocation. That doesn't mean the United States has to rush into a full-scale conflict, but clearly, some kind of response is going to be warranted. This is a developing story; updates will be posted as they become available.

Editor's Note: This article and headline have been updated to reflect the fact that the missiles did not strike the consulate itself but near it.