Blast reported at US embassy in Oslo

U.S. embassies across the Middle East have increased security measures amid “Operation Epic Fury” against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

By JNS

The U.S. Embassy in Norway was hit by an explosion in the early hours of Sunday, according to Oslo police. No injuries were reported in the incident.

The blast, which was reported around 1:00 a.m. local time, caused “minor material damage” to the entrance of one of the embassy’s buildings, according to a police statement cited by AFP.

“Police view such incidents in public spaces as very serious, and are investigating the case with substantial resources and high priority,” police added.

Investigators were said to have arrived at the scene, while police dogs, drones and helicopters were deployed to search for “one or more potential perpetrators,” according to the statement.

Oslo police commander Michael Dellemyr told the local TV2 outlet that authorities “have an idea of the cause,” adding that “it appears to us that this is an act carried out by someone.”

A bomb squad was dispatched to the scene, according to the TV2 report.

U.S. embassies across the Middle East have increased security measures amid “Operation Epic Fury” against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which Washington launched in conjunction with Jerusalem on Feb. 28.

However, Dellemyr told TV2 that it was “too early” to connect the incident to the conflict.

Anti-American protests in Pakistan on March 2 ended with the deaths of at least 22 people at U.S. consulates in Karachi and Lahore as thousands protested the fighting between the U.S.-Israel alliance and Tehran.

Following the news that Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, was killed in the opening strike of the war, hundreds of Iraqis attempted to storm Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, where the U.S. embassy is located.

Meanwhile, Hundreds of demonstrators marched to the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Athens, Greece, on March 1, to protest the Iran campaign.

The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem has directed all government employees and their family members to “continue to shelter in place in and near their residences until further notice.”