US says Iran waging disinformation campaign to justify Erbil attack

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US State Department on Tuesday told Rudaw English that it supports the Iraqi government’s stance of labeling Iran’s claims that a Mossad headquarter had been in struck in Erbil as “baseless,” adding that Iran has waged a disinformation campaign to justify the attack.

Last week, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched several ballistic missiles towards Erbil, claiming to target a Mossad base. The strikes resulted in the death of Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and three others. Kurdish and Iraqi authorities have vehemently refuted Tehran’s claim, calling them baseless. 

“We stand by Iraq’s government, which has labeled as baseless Iran’s claim that it targeted a purported Mossad headquarters in these attacks,” a State Department spokesperson told Rudaw English's Karwan Faidhi Dri in an email. 

Since the attack, Iranian media has published false photographs, claiming to depict Dizayee with Israeli figures. 

“The fact that Iranian propagandists felt the need to doctor photos and wage a disinformation campaign is just the latest reminder that the Iranian regime will not hesitate to lie and fabricate information in order to cover up its destabilizing behavior,” the statement added. 

Kurdish authorities have repeatedly denied the presence of any Israeli bases in the Kurdistan Region. 

READ MORE: FACT-CHECK - Iran’s failed attempt to spread disinformation on Kurdistan

Safeen Dizayee, Head of Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Department of Foreign Relation, told reporters on Monday that the publication of misinformation by Iran was an attempt to “cover the crime,” referring to the deadly Erbil strikes.

Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji last week visited Erbil to assess the aftermath of the Iranian attack. After inspecting the targeted location, he concluded that claims about the presence of a Mossad base in Erbil were “baseless.”

An Iraqi parliamentary committee investigating the incident concluded on Sunday that the targeted area was in fact a residential building, and not, as claimed by Iran, a Mossad base.