John Kirby previously claimed that the US had informed the Iraqi regime before the attacks.
United States did not notify the Iraqi government in advance of recent strikes against pro-Iranian groups, the US State Department says.
“There was no advance notice, we informed the Iraqis immediately after the attacks,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vedant Patel told reporters.
Representative of the US National Security Council John Kirby said on Friday that the US would have informed the Iraqi regime even before the attacks. On Monday, however, Kirby said he responded for the rest of the week with the information he was given at the time.
“It wasn't as specific as it could have been and I apologize for the confusion,” Kirby said.
United States carried out several airstrikes on Friday against Iran's Revolutionary Guards and armed groups linked to Iran in Iraq and Syria. There have also been other attacks recently in the Middle East.
The US strikes on Friday were in response to a drone attack in which three US soldiers were killed in Jordan. The United States has blamed Iran-backed forces operating in Syria and Iraq for the attack.
State Department spokesman Patel said the Iraqi government, along with other states in the region, understood that the deaths of US soldiers would be retaliated against.
Kirby also said Monday that the United States had indicated to Iraqi officials and through public channels that attacks on American forces would be retaliated against.
Diplomatic sources told news agency AFP on Saturday that the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday due to the US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. Russia said on Saturday that it demands an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council due to the US attacks.
Early on Tuesday morning Finnish time, however, no information about a possible emergency meeting had yet leaked out.
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