The Washington Post | Adam Taylor: Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated throughout 2019, but on New Year�s Eve these tensions were illustrated by a dramatic new image: the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad under siege.

That militia supporters targeted the embassy in Iraq was no surprise. For the United States, which has no diplomatic relations with Iran, Iraq has become a flash point for tensions with the Iranian regime.

A rocket attack Friday on a base housing U.S. troops in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed an American contractor. The United States blamed an Iran-backed group for the attack and in response on Sunday launched airstrikes against bases along the border with Syria used by the group Kataib Hezbollah, killing 25 militia members and injuring more than 50.

The airstrikes drew condemnation from not only Tehran but also Baghdad, which declared they were a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. As a crowd of hundreds, many armed, broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday, they shouted, �Death to America.�

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