How is the world reporting the Iranian missile attack on US bases in Iraq?
Publications across the world seem split on the outcome the attack might have on world peace
January 08, 2020
The Iranian military on Tuesday targetted military bases of the United States in Iraq to avenge the killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad earlier this week.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif took to social networking platform Twitter a few hours after the attack to say that Iran had carried out the strikes in self-defense and that the country did not want war.
US President Donald Trump also shared a message on Twitter merely a few minutes after Zarif had come forward with his tweet, saying that all was well and the US would soon release a statement in this regard.
The attack has triggered fears of an all-out war breaking out between the Middle Eastern country and the North American nation. It has also led to fierce efforts to manipulate news media in favour of either country.
Here is how some top news orgnaisations in the world have reported the story of the Iranian strikes on their digital media. The comments of experts these publications spoke to have been included for clarity as well.
Also read: Soleimani was in Baghdad as mediator for Saudi Arabia, Iran: Iraq PM
Iran fires on US forces at 2 bases in Iraq, saying ‘fierce revenge’ has begun: NYT
Top American news publication The New York Times chose to portray the attack as revenge for the killing of a top Iranian commander, despite the fact that the Iranian FM used the words 'proportionate measures' to describe the Iranian actions.
The NYT decided to lead with the statement put out by the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in the headline, instead of taking the official Iranian version. The IRGC is known for being tough on the US and routinely challenges the American military with provocative remarks.
"Two people close to the Revolutionary Guards said that if the United States did not strike, Iran would also de-escalate. But if the United States did attack, then Iran was preparing for at least a limited conflict," the NYT reported, hinting that a small conflict was on the horizon.
The publication also chose to give voice to the Senator Richard J Durbin of Illinois, who said that the escalation of violence between Iran and the United States made the constitutional responsibility of Congress to decide whether to declare war more important than ever.
Also read: Iran missile strike: Tehran claims 80 dead in attack on US bases
Iran launches 15 ballistic missiles into Iraq targeting US, coalition forces, officials say: Fox News
Prominent right-wing United States-based publication Fox News decided not to include the official Iranian version in their headline at all, instead focusing on the number of missiles launched into the Iraq base, despite the fact that there were no casualties reported in the strikes.
In addition, Fox News also followed The New York Times by choosing to prominently quote the statement made by the IRGC, and the official version of the Iranian FM was not included in their lead story on the website at all, instead quoting the head of the IRGC.
Hossein Salami, Soleimani’s successor as leader of the Revolutionary Guard, addressed a crowd of supporters in a central square in Kernan on Monday, according to Fox News. “We tell our enemies that we will retaliate and set ablaze the places that they like," Salami said.
The reporting of the incident on Fox News, compared to The New York Times, also seemed shorter, and more geared toward the audiences in the United States. The publication did not quote defense experts or other foreign affairs analysts for comments on the developments.
Also read; Iran and 'free nations of region' to avenge general's killing: Rouhani
Iran launches missiles at US forces in Iraq at al-Asad and Erbi: The Guardian
United Kingdom-based news publication The Guardian reported the incident in a live blog, preferring a neutral headline that focused on the developments of the day and avoided mentions of what the leaders of the United States or Iran had said about the matter.
While sharing the latest updates from the fallout of the attack in real-time, The Guardian chose to fact-check claims being made by other media houses in relation to the attack, quoting senior defense experts and journalists to comment on the matter.
For example, the publication quoted in-house reporter Michael Safi as debunking claims made by the Iranian Fars news agency on Wednesday that at least 80 people had been killed in the strikes. "This claim is almost certainly not true, it allows Iran to beat their chest," Safi said.
US representatives commenting on the developing situation were quoted prominently by the publication, with senior defense officials and senior US congresspersons featured in the live updates. Statements from Iranian officials were lacking, as compared to the coverage of the US.
Trump says 'so far, so good' after Iran fired barrage of ballistic missiles in operation 'Martyr Soleimani': Daily Mail
Right-leaning United Kingdom based Daily Mail quoted the name of the operation undertook by Iran in their top story on the website, something other publications did not do. The Mail story included mentions of US President Trump and the Iranian IRGC prominently.
Daily Mail also featured the crashed plane in Tehran as one of the most important developments of the day, even adding the word speculation in the headline to quote rumors surrounding the crash on the social media, which could prove to be untrue.
The plane crash story on the website of the publication included quite a few gruesome images from the plane crash shared on social media by users across the world. References to the lead story that included the images of the missile attack on the US base were featured too.
Over 80 US forces dead in Iran missile attack to targets in Iraq: Tehran Times
Tehran Times, a leading international English daily from Iran, lead with the official Iranian claim that at least 80 US forced had been killed in the strikes on military bases in Iraq late Tuesday. The reports of the deaths were quoted to sources within the IRGC.
The Iranian publication confirmed that at least 15 missiles hit the US base in Iraq. "As many as 20 critical points of the base were hit by 15 missiles and a significant number of UAVs and helicopters were destroyed," the newspaper reported.
As the US says it is assessing the damage made by the attack, and western media reporting that there were no casualties, the Iranian newspaper also reported that, "despite the fact that Americans had been on high alert, their air defense was unable to respond.”
IRGC targets US airbase in Iraq in response to assassination of General Soleimani: IRNA
The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) also reported the attack as the Iranian response to the assassination of Soleimani. According to the agency, the attack was carried out by the IRGC, the elite group of soldiers within Iran tasked with safeguarding and exporting the Iranian revolution of 1979.
The story of the Iranian agency focused on the statement put out by the IRGC and did not include the versions of the US President, other US officials, or the western media. Details about the attack were also lacking, compared to other publications with reporters on the ground.
However, IRNA did feature a video of the strike carried out by Iranian forces in Iraq. The video shows missiles in the sky bound for their targets. The damage they caused is not apparent in the video.
