BREAKING: Second tremor of magnitude 4.5 has been reported near Iran nuclear site. The second tremors were reported 17km SSE of Borazjan, Iran, USGS said. The tremors have rattled an area less than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, AFP reports. By the time of writing of this report, USGS had the following information:
Time: 2020-01-08 03:19:13 (UTC)
Location: 29.114°N 51.272°E
Depth: 10.0 km
The first tremor reported this morning was of 4.9 magnitude that had struck 10 km south-east of Borazjan, Iran, at 2.20 am GMT according to USGS.
The second tremors from near the Iran nuclear site amid a significant military escalation has sent tremors of concern around the world. However, Washington is yet to react to the tremors in Iran as of now. An earlier report claimed that the first quake that hit near a nuclear plant. It was termed as a "natural" event.
Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has termed Iran’s early morning retaliation against US assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani "as a slap on face America."
“A slap was delivered last night, but what is important is that the seditious presence of America in the region should be ended,” Ayatollah Khamenei was quoted by Press TV Iran.
Earlier, Iran struck back at the United States early Wednesday for killing a top Revolutionary Guard commander, firing a series of ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq that house American troops in a major escalation between the two longtime foes.
It was Iran's most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and Iranian state TV said it was in revenge for the U.S. killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, whose death last week in an American drone strike near Baghdad prompted angry calls to avenge his slaying. A U.S. and Iraqi officials said there were no immediate reports of casualties, though buildings were still being searched. The Iraqi government later confirmed there were no casualties among Iraqi forces.
US President Donald Trump, however, reacted to the Iran rocket attacks in Iraq's Al Asad Air Base in Baghdad saying: "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."
(Inputs from AFP and AP)
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