Aljazeera:

Iran has no proxies but it has friends, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, a day after US President Donald Trump alleged Tehran or its "proxies" planned a sneak attack on US targets in Iraq.

"Don't be misled by usual warmongers, AGAIN, @realDonaldTrump: Iran has FRIENDS: No one can have MILLIONS of proxies. Unlike the US - which surreptitiously lies, cheats & assassinates - Iran only acts in self-defence," tweeted Zarif on Thursday.

"Iran starts no wars, but teaches lessons to those who do."

Trump said in a tweet on Wednesday that Iran is planning a "sneak attack" on US troops or "assets" in Iraq, warning the country will pay a "heavy price" if this happens.

The president made the abrupt announcement amid lingering tensions between the two countries over past confrontations, as well as the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump's tweet coincided with US officials saying intelligence suggested that Iran or its Iraq-based proxies were planning an attack on US personal in the country, reported the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

"We've been seeing something brewing and developing pretty seriously," an unnamed US official told the Journal, adding that intelligence has mounted over a two-week period. "We expect something soon."

The US official said he expected the potential attack to be more menacing than previous rocket attacks.

Another American official told Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity that intelligence about a potential Iran-backed attack in Iraq suggested it would likely be a deniable attack. The official did not disclose intelligence on the timing or precise locations of any attack.

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