Hundreds of troops deployed to Iraq to defend US embassy as Trump says peace with Iran not likely

by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The US is scheduled to deploy 750 new troops to defend the US embassy in Iraq, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday night, following protests by Iran-backed groups that marched on the compound in retaliation for US strikes Sunday that killed 25 Kataeb Hezbollah fighters.
Protestors had retreated by Tuesday night but set up tents near the compound that seemed to portend another day of protests after storming the US embassy earlier in the day and chanting “death to America” and “death to Israel.”
“I want to have peace; I like peace. And Iran should want peace more than anybody,” President Trump said on New Year’s Eve in light of what seemed an imminent flare-up with Iran. “[But] I don’t see that happening. No, I don’t think Iran would want that to happen.”
The Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iran-backed paramilitary group in Iraq with its own parliamentary bloc, said 62 protestors had been injured by live rounds and tear gas from US soldiers and Iraqi police, but western media outlets were unable to confirm the figures Wednesday.