In the late hours of Monday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ten ballistic missiles toward Erbil, under the pretext of targeting “spy headquarters” of anti-Iran groups, killing Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and three other people. His mansion was described by Tehran as a Mossad base - a claim strongly denied by Kurdish officials.
Several people were injured in the attacks, including Dizayee’s children and a housekeeper, Arlene Anthonio.
“[Regarding] my condition, I'm good… now. I still have head injury, and I have fractured feet and I have too much bruises, but so far I am fine,” she told Rudaw’s Ranja Jamal on Thursday.
Recounting the deadly incident, she said she was sitting in the kitchen when Iran’s ballistic missiles hit the opulent residency. After the explosions, “I passed out and do not know what happened,” she stated.
She has been working for Dizayee for seven years.
“I am alone here, together with only my colleagues. I have a lot of friends. But for my family, no. They are in the Philippines, and in Dubai,” she noted.
Dizayee was a renowned businessman, actively taking part in the development of Erbil’s infrastructure. He was the owner of the city’s landmark Empire World residential project and Falcon Group conglomerate which provides services in several fields, including security, oil, gas, construction, and agriculture.
“About this family... They were so kind [people]. That's why I don't want to think about what happened. He is my good Baba and he is very supportive to me. And maybe I didn't feel that until he was out of the family,” she recounted, referring to Dizayee.
She added that they all respected one another in the house.
“We respect each other, we love each other. It is really hard for me. He is really a good person. That's my Baba,” she said.
Arlene Anthonio was working as a housekeeper in the late Peshraw Dizayee's residence when Iranian missiles struck on Monday evening.
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) January 18, 2024
Injured in hospital, she tells Rudaw's Ranja Jamal about the attack and breaks down in tears when remembering those who lost their lives. pic.twitter.com/F8e9uO6l6A
Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson of the Iranian foreign ministry on Tuesday said that the ballistic missile strike on Erbil was in line with Tehran's defense of its sovereignty, security, and the mission of "combating terrorism." The Iraqi foreign ministry summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires to hand him a protest note in response to the attacks on the same day.
Kanaani reiterated the IRGC’s early Tuesday morning claim of having targeted “spy headquarters,” more specifically Israel’s Mossad-affiliated center, in the Kurdistan Region’s capital.
Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji headed a high-level security delegation to Erbil to assess the aftermath of the Iranian bombardment of the Kurdish capital. After inspecting the targeted location, he concluded that claims about the presence of Mossad base in Erbil are “baseless.”