Iranian-backed militia official downplays US strikes in Iraq after base attack

A military base known as Tower 22 in north-eastern Jordan was targeted by a bomb-carrying drone (Planet Labs PBC/AP)

An Iraqi militia official has hinted at a desire to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East following retaliatory strikes launched by the US against dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Hussein al-Mosawi, spokesman for Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the main Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, condemned the US strikes, saying Washington “must understand that every action elicits a reaction”. But he then struck a more conciliatory tone, saying that “we do not wish to escalate or widen regional tensions”.