THE HILL
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby apologized Tuesday for initially claiming the U.S. notified Baghdad before major airstrikes in Iraq last week.
Kirby told reporters that he was mistaken when he told reporters last week of a notification to Iraq before the U.S. launched a wave of airstrikes on Iranian-backed militia groups and the Iranian military wing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“I deeply apologize for the error, and I regret any confusion that it caused,” Kirby said. “It was based on information we had or that was provided to me in those early hours after the strikes. Turns out that information was incorrect. And I certainly regret the error.”
Kirby added that there was “no ill-intent behind it” and “no deliberate intent to deceive.”
“I take those responsibilities very, very seriously,” he said. “And I deeply regret the mistake that I made.”
The apology comes just one day after the State Department contradicted Kirby’s claim of a pre-notification.
“There was no pre-notification,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters Monday. “Iraq, like every country in the region, understood that there would be a response after the deaths of our soldiers.”
Instead, Iraq was informed immediately after the strikes, according to Patel.
Kirby made the initial claim during a press call with reporters Friday, shortly after the U.S. struck more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria with B-1 bomber planes.
