Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif appeared to signal the action was complete, at least for now, tweeting on Wednesday afternoon: "Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defence under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched. "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression," Zarif wrote. Iran state TV showing a missile attack on a US base. Credit:Iran state TV Shortly after, US President Donald Trump broke a seven-hour Twitter silence with: "All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning." US President Donald Trump is aware of the reports. Credit:AP

Loading The Revolutionary Guard then warned the US and its regional allies against retaliating over the missile attack in Iraq. The Guard issued the warning via a statement carried by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency. "We are warning all American allies, who gave their bases to its terrorist army, that any territory that is the starting point of aggressive acts against Iran will be targeted," the Guard said. It also threatened Israel. A US official said there were very few, if any, casualties from the attacks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of a Pentagon briefing.

The official says 15 missiles were fired. Ten struck the Ain Asad air base in Iraq's western Anbar province. One struck a base in Erbil in Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region. Four missiles failed to hit their targets. The official said the bases are still being searched for casualties. Tensions have mounted with Iran following the US drone strike on Friday that killed Soleimani. On Fox News, Republican Senator and ardent Trump supporter Lindsey Graham stated that he had "just got off the phone" with Trump about the situation and that if Iran continued "this crap" they were "going to wake up one day out of the oil business."

"This was an act of war, Sean, by any reasonable definition," Graham continued, before declaring that "the President has all the authority he needs under Article II to respond. How he responds is yet to be determined". The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told Iranian state television that further responses would be on the way. "The IRGC announces to the great Satan the US that any responses will be met with much more pain and destruction," the IRGC said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Iran was assessing 13 scenarios for retaliation, Ali Shamkhani, head of Iran's national security council, was cited as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency. "The entirety of the resistance forces will retaliate" for Soleimani's killing, he said.

The US had vowed a quick and overwhelming response to any Iranian attacks. Over the past week, the Pentagon deployed about 3500 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne to Kuwait and another three Navy ships with about 2200 Marines to the Persian Gulf region. The US dispatched more troops to the Middle East this week. Credit:AP State TV said the operation's name was "Martyr Soleimani". It said the Guard's aerospace division, which controls Iran's missile program, launched the attack. Ain Assad air base is located in Iraq's western Anbar province. It was first used by American forces after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. It later saw American troops stationed there amid the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. Earlier White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the White House was aware of the reports and Trump was consulting with his national security advisors.

Loading Prime Minister Scott Morrison, in Kangaroo Island for the bushfires, said Australian Defence and diplomatic personnel were safe and he was working to protect Australians in Iraq. He had spoken to the chiefs of the Defence force and the Ministers for Defence and Foreign Affairs regarding the reports out of Iraq. He would be receiving further updates as more information comes to hand, a spokesman said earlier. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Mr Morrison has also called Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese to keep him updated on the attack.

On Tuesday, Iranian President Hassam Rouhani reacted to Trump's earlier threat to hit 52 sites in Iran on Twitter. "Those who refer to the number 52 should also remember the number 290. #IR655 Never threaten the Iranian nation," his official account posted. Speaking in New York, Biden said Trump used a "haphazard" decision-making process to order the killing of Soleimani and has failed to communicate the rationale to Congress or US allies around the world. Biden said Trump instead offered "tweets, threats and tantrums" that proved the Republican President to be "dangerously incompetent and incapable of world leadership." Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Trump's escalation of tensions with Iran proved him to be "dangerously incompetent" and put the US on the brink of war.