Iran Press/America: He also said the US is not withdrawing troops from Iraq following a weekend vote by Iraq's parliament to expel American forces.
"We are not looking to start a war with Iran, but we are prepared to finish one," Esper said during an interview with CNN's.
Hours after Esper spoke to CNN, Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi bases that hold US troops.
In a statement released in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that a US airbase in western Iraq has been hit with 'tens of missiles'.
The attack came in response to a US terrorist drone strike days earlier that martyred Iranian late Commander of Qods Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani.
“All is well!” and "so far, so good," the US President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday night after Iran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq.
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