IRAN LAUNCHES MISSILE ATTACK ON IRAQ BASE HOUSING U.S. TROOPS Iran on Wednesday launched a missile attack on an Iraqi airbase where U.S. forces are based, threatening "more crushing responses" if Washington carried out further strikes, Iranian state media said. It said the missiles were in response to a US strike last week that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi top commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Security sources told AFP that nine rockets hit the sprawling Ain al-Asad airbase in the country's west, the largest of the Iraqi military compounds where foreign troops are based. The attack came in three waves just after midnight, the sources said. Iran swiftly claimed responsibility for the attack, with state TV saying it had launched "tens of missiles" on the base and promised "more crushing responses" if the U.S. carried out further strikes. There were no immediate reports of casualties at the bases. The Pentagon said Iran had fired more than a dozen missiles against Ain al-Asad and another installation hosting US and coalition forces near Arbil. It said bases hosting foreign troops had expected an attack and had been on "high alert" for days. U.S. President Donald Trump was "monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team," according to the White House. WITHDRAWAL OF US TROOPS WILL BE 'WORST THING' FOR IRAQ: TRUMP Pulling out U.S. troops from Iraq will be the "worst thing" for the country, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the Iraqi parliament demanded expulsion of American forces. Some 5,000 U.S. soldiers are deployed in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the IS terror group. On Sunday, the Iraqi parliament had passed a resolution to terminate the agreement that allows for U.S troops in the country. Mr. Trump said if Iraq expels U.S. troops now, "I think it's the worst thing that can happen to Iraq". "If we leave that would mean that Iran would have a much bigger foothold, and the people in Iraq do not want to see Iran running the country," he said. In a brief interaction with reporters at the Oval Office of the White House, Mr. Trump said at some point the U.S. will want to get out of Iraq. "But this isn't the right point. The other thing is, if we do get out, we've spent a tremendous amount of money on building airports and building one of the largest embassies we have in the world. We want to be reimbursed to the various costs that we have had," he said. "They're very significant...We don't want to be there forever... I didn't want to be there in the first place to be honest and everybody knows that. That was when I was a civilian I said it, but we were there and they made a decision and I disagreed with that decision very strongly, Mr.Trump said. The president said that but "we're there now we've done a great job. We've gotten rid of the caliphate. 100 per cent of the caliphate is gone, which is ISIS". US DENIES IRANIAN FM VISA FOR SECURITY COUNCIL MEET The US has denied Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif a visa to attend the upcoming UN Security Council (UNSC) meet, it was reported on Tuesday. In a statement on Tuesday, Zarif said his Ministry had "weeks ago" requested a visa to take part in the meeting to be held on Thursday. Zarif rejected false claims by American officials that they did not have time to process the application. "The Americans are trying to create the impression that our request to attend the meeting was put forth following the assassination of General Soleimani. He (Secretary of State Mike Pompeo) has told UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that they couldn't issue the visa due to shortage of time, whereas the request had been sent several weeks in advance," he said. The Minister added that Washington's denial was an outright violation of the terms of a 1947 UN Headquarters agreement, which required the US to allow foreign officials into the country for UN affairs. There has been no official comments on the development from the US State Department not the UN Secretary-General's office. Zarif last travelled to New York in September 2019 for the UN General Assembly summit. US BANS AIRLINES FROM FLYING OVER IRAQ, IRAN AFTER MISSILE ATTACK ON TROOPS The US Federal Aviation Administration said it would ban U.S. carriers from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran, the Gulf of Oman and the waters between Iran and Saudi Arabia after Iran launched a missile attack on US-led forces in Iraq. Tehran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles from Iranian territory against at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US-led coalition personnel, the US military said on Tuesday. The FAA said it issued the airspace ban "due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the Middle East, which present an inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations." Several non-U.S. airlines had flights over parts of Iraq and Iran at the time, according to FlightRadar24 data. They are not directly affected by the FAA ban, but foreign carriers and their national regulators typically consider U.S. advice carefully when deciding where to fly. Before the latest guidance, the FAA had already prohibited U.S. carriers from flying below 26,000 feet over Iraq and from flying over an area of Iranian airspace above the Gulf and Gulf of Oman since Iran shot down a high-altitude U.S. drone last June. Singapore Airlines Ltd said after the attack on U.S. bases in Iraq that all of its flights would be diverted from Iranian airspace. Carriers are increasingly taking steps to limit threats to their planes after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down in 2014 by a missile over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. U.S.-IRAN UNREST: BRITAIN, FRANCE, GERMANY MEET IN BRUSSELS FOR CRISIS IRAN TALKS The British, French and German Foreign Ministers meet in Brussels on Tuesday to hold urgent talks over Iran as they prepare their reaction after Tehran's decision to scrap the nuclear enrichment limits under a 2015 accord. The Ministers had already been scheduled to meet with their Italian counterpart to discuss the crisis in Libya, but opted to hold separate discussions on Iran amid the crisis that erupted following the U.S. killing of an Iranian General. Britain's Foreign Office said the E3 - Britain, France and Germany, would meet to discuss ways to defuse tensions between the United States and Iran. "The talks will also cover the nuclear deal following Irans latest announcement on Sunday that it is withdrawing from further commitments in the deal," a British Foreign Office spokesman said. A French diplomatic source confirmed the talks. The bloc's 28 Ministers meet on Friday in Brussels to discuss the Iran crisis. "It is imperative that we find a way to de-escalate things," France's junior Foreign Affairs Minister told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "The Europeans need to be the voice of reason. Because of everything that has happened it's even more important to have contact with all actors to avoid the worst and a vicious cycle of reprisals that leads to a fatal escalation." PUERTO RICO DECLARES EMERGENCY, ACTIVATES NATIONAL GUARD AFTER EARTHQUAKES Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard on Tuesday after a series of earthquakes including one of magnitude 6.4 struck the Caribbean island. The temblors killed at least one person, knocked out power across much of the island and caused significant damage, authorities and media reported. Vazquez said all public sector offices except for emergency services would remain closed on Tuesday while emergency plans were implemented. The emergency order and activation of the National Guard were later published on an official government website. The island has been rocked by a series of quakes in recent days, including a 5.8-magnitude temblor on Monday that damaged a few homes on the southern coast. The U.S. territory is still recovering from a pair of devastating 2017 hurricanes that killed about 3,000 people and destroyed significant infrastructure across an island working through a bankruptcy process to restructure about $120 billion of debt and pension obligations. Vazquez, who assumed office in August after Ricardo Rossello stepped down in the face of massive street protests, tweeted pleas for people to remain calm. "We want everyone to be safe. That is why all work in the public sectors has been suspended today, so that you can be with your family, implementing your emergency plans," Vazquez tweeted. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported a small tsunami measuring around 20 centimeters (7.9 inches). The first and biggest quake on Tuesday, of magnitude 6.4, struck at a depth of 10.0 km (six miles) at 4:24 am (0824 GMT) near Ponce on the island's southern coast, the U.S. Geological Survey said. THAIS ASKED TO SHOWER LESS AS DROUGHT WORSENS Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Tuesday urged people to turn off taps and shower less to cope with a drought afflicting northern and central Thailand. Last week, Bangkok's water authority said the capital's tap water was becoming saline as seawater pushed up the depleted Chao Phraya river, a source of much of central Thailand's water. The cabinet agreed on Tuesday to spend 3 billion baht ($100 million) on boreholes and pipes to extract ground water to relieve a drought that is expected to worsen in the next few months, a government spokeswoman told reporters. Thailand's dry season started in November and usually lasts through April, although this year authorities say it could go on through June. A drought has been declared in 14 provinces in the central, northern and northeastern farming regions. "Please all help save water. Turn off all the taps. Use less water," Prayuth said. "Reduce tooth-brushing and shower time by one minute." With reservoir levels low, the government has also asked farmers in some provinces near the Chao Phraya River basin not to grow off-season rice.