US must leave the region: Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei

Iran's Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called for an end to the presence of the United States in the region. 

He was addressing thousands of people from Qom Province on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1978 uprising.

Praising his forces for the strikes against US airbase of Ain al-Assad in Anbar province in western Iraq in retaliation to the American forces killing Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani, he said, the U.S. must leave the region. 

Iran has claimed that 80 US army personnel have been killed and about 200 injured in missile



attacks launched by Iranian Revolutionary Guards at American bases in Iraq. Quoting Revolutionary Guards sources, Fars news agency said that some 20 sensitive points of the military base were struck by fifteen missiles early this morning.  

The Iraqi army said, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters and other military equipment have been severely damaged in the attack. White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said that the White House is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with the national security team. The attack came after the US killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Iraq last week.