Trump says Iran 'appears to be standing down' and orders more sanctions after the missile attack in Iraq

• President Donald Trump, flanked by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Vice President Mike Pence, confirmed Wednesday that an Iranian missile attack on US forces did not result in a single American casualty, adding that Iran "appears to be standing down."
• In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Iran appeared, at least in its outward rhetoric, to signal a desire to de-escalate, with Iran's foreign minister tweeting that "we do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression."

• Rather than choosing to retaliate with force, Trump announced that the US will impose tougher economic sanctions on Iran, further stating that the days of tolerating Iran's malign behavior "are over."

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President Donald Trump, flanked by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Vice President Mike Pence, confirmed Wednesday that an Iranian missile attack on US forces did not result in a single American casualty, adding that Iran "appears to be standing down."

"I'm pleased to inform you, the American people should be extremely grateful and happy," he said. "No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime." The president said that there were no casualties and only minimal damage to the installations that came under fire.

Rather than choosing to retaliate with force, Trump announced that the US will impose tougher economic sanctions on Iran, further stating that the days of tolerating Iran's malign behavior "are over."

Iran fired more than a dozen missiles on US and coalition forces in Iraq Wednesday morning (local time) in retaliation for the US drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani last week. The attacks, according to the Pentagon, targeted "US military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil."

The attack followed threats and warnings from Iranian leadership, which vowed to seek revenge for the killing of the general, the commander of the elite IRGC Quds Force who was widely known figure in Iran.

There were no reported casualties from the barrage, and damage is said to have been minimal. A few hours after the conclusion of the attack, the president tweeted that "all is well."

There are reports that US and coalition forces in the line of fire may have had advanced warning, as Iraq is said to have received "verbal notice" of Iran's intentions before it opened fire, according to Bloomberg News. Advanced warning would give targeted personnel time to take shelter in hardened facilities.

Also, US officials told CNN that the Iranian military may have been intentionally shooting to miss. A State Department official told the media outlet that the message appeared to be: "We could have done it and we didn't do it."

Some observers suspect that the attack was an attempt by Iran to save face at home without triggering a retaliatory response from the US.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Iran appeared, at least in its outward rhetoric, to signal a desire to de-escalate. Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif characterized its actions Wednesday morning as defensive, writing on Twitter that "we do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression."

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, however, said that it's actions were "not enough."

The Americans "were slapped last night, but such military actions are not enough," he said in the holy city of Qom. "The corruptive presence of the US in the West Asian region must be stopped," he added, suggesting that tensions between the US and Iran will persist as long as the US military is active in the region.