Criticism of the United States

The United States will not dare to hit 52 targets in Iran, as US President Donald Trump threatened earlier, said Iranian Armed Forces Commander Abdolrahim Mousavi, RIA Novosti reported.

"In the course of a possible conflict in the future, in which I doubt they will have the courage to strike, it will become clear what those numbers are - 5 and 2," Mousavi added.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke with his U.S. counterpart over the phone on Jan. 4, according to diplomatic sources.

Çavuşoğlu and Mike Pompeo discussed the situation in Iraq and Iran, as well as bilateral issues.

In an announcement on Friday, Greece's main opposition SYRIZA called the assassination of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, killed in Baghdad by US military forces, "a dangerous act that further intensifies a climate of instability in Iraq and the wider region of the Middle East."

Four CV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor planes and two C-130 Hercules military cargo planes landed at the military base at Souda in Crete on Thursday, Kathimerini understands.
According to sources, the six aircraft, which flew to Greece from the RAF Mildenhall US air base in England, will be deployed in potential operations to evacuate American nationals or officers from Iraq's wider region.

Turkey called on all parties to act with common sense and avoid steps that will fuel tension, the presidential spokesman said on Jan. 3 amid the fresh U.S.-Iran row.

Thousands more U.S. troops were ordered to the Middle East on Jan. 3 after the United States assassinated Iran's military mastermind and Tehran promised "severe revenge."    

President Donald Trump said top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was "terminated" when he was on the verge of attacking U.S. diplomats but he insisted that Washington is not seeking to topple Iran's government.

Police have stepped up security at the American and Israeli embassies in the Greek capital amid fears of retaliation following a US air strike against a leading Iranian military commander.

Greece called for "cool-headedness" and "moderation" following the US killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force.

"Greece is following with great concern the developments in Iraq," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

Turkey expressed concern about escalating U.S.-Iranian tension and called on all the parties to avoid unilateral steps that would jeopardize the stability in the region after the U.S. killed Iranian commander Qassem Suleymani.

Two vehicles near the airport in Baghdad were hit in airstrikes and on that occasion, in addition to the second most powerful man in Iran, Qassem Soleimani, the top leader of the umbrella Shiite organization People's Mobilization Force (PMF) Abu-Mahdi al-Muhandis was killed.