Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

Pompeo: ‘We are confident that the Iraqi people want the United States to continue to be there’

Zack Budryk — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 10:00:23 +0000

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday defended the continued U.S. presence in Iraq even as the Iraqi parliament convened a special session to discuss expelling American troops after the U.S. killing of Iranian military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

“The prime minister is the acting prime minister. … He’s under enormous threats from the very Iranian leadership that it is that we are pushing back against,” Pompeo said on “Fox News Sunday,” adding, “We are confident that the Iraqi people want the United States to continue to be there.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi told the nation’s parliament on Sunday that the Iraqi government must establish a timetable for the exit of all foreign troops “for the sake of our national sovereignty.”

Asked by Fox’s Chris Wallace how the U.S. would respond if the Iraqi government calls for the expulsion of U.S. troops, Pompeo said, “We’ll have to take a look at what we do when the Iraqi leadership and government makes a decision.”

Wallace also pressed Pompeo on unspecified intelligence he and President Trump have cited that allegedly showed an imminent attack the killing of Soleimani was intended to prevent, noting that congressional leadership and sources within intelligence agencies have pushed back against the assertion.

“Don’t the American people have the right to some understanding of what it was, why it was so urgent to take out Soleimani now?” Wallace asked.

Pompeo claimed, “any reasonable person” who saw the intelligence in question would agree with the decision and added, “We’ll do everything we can to share this information with the American people, but I think the American people understand too there are things you just can’t put out in public.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joined FOX News Sunday to discuss breaking news regarding heightened US-Iran tensions in the wake of an attack that killed Soleimani. The Trump administration says he was planning imminent attacks. Secretary Pompeo reacts. #FNS #foxnews

Iran has vowed retaliation for the killing of Soleimani, one of its top military leaders, while Trump threatened Saturday night to target 52 unspecified Iranian sites, some of cultural significance if Iran strikes back.

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/476815-pompeo-were-confident-the-iraqi-people-want-the-united-states-to

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Benjamin Netanyahu ‘was warned by the US of its plans to kill Qassem Soleimani ahead of the drone strike’

Jack Newman for Mail Online — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 07:20:47 +0000

–Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Netanyahu on Wednesday night
–The following morning, Netanyahu tweeted about ‘very, very dramatic things’
–Other allies of the US were not informed of the impending strike

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was likely told of the US drone strike on General Qassem Soleimani before the attack.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is understood to have briefed Israel ahead of time about their plans to kill the revered military leader who was the powerful head of Iran‘s elite Quds Force.

Pompeo spoke to Netanyahu on the phone on Wednesday night, ostensibly to thank him for Israel’s help after the attack on the US embassy in Iraq, according to The Times of Israel.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was likely told of the US drone strike by Mike Pompeo before the attack (pictured together)

The Israeli Prime Minister tweeted hours before the drone strike that ‘very, very dramatic things are happening’ in the region

But on Thursday morning, hours before the attack in Baghdad, Netanyahu forewarned about ‘very, very dramatic things’ happening in the region.

He tweeted: ‘I want to make one thing clear: We fully support all of the steps that the US has taken as well as its full right to defend itself and its citizens.

‘Moreover, we know that our region is stormy; very, very dramatic things are happening in it. We are alert and are monitoring the situation.

‘We are in continuous contact with our great friend the US, including my conversation yesterday afternoon.’

Just hours later, Soleimani and other top officials were killed in the airstrike which could have far-reaching and catastrophic consequences.

But it appears the US did not brief allies other than Israel of the impending attack, with Britain not given any notice ahead of the airstrike.

The strikes resulted in the deaths of Qassem Soleimani (left), chief of the elite Quds Forces arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, as well Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, 66, (right) commander of a pro-Iran Iraqi militia

In a statement after Pompeo’s call with Netanyahu, the US State Department said: ‘Secretary Pompeo thanked Prime Minister Netanyahu for Israel’s unwavering commitment to countering Iran’s malign regional influence and its condemnation of the December 31 attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad.

‘The Secretary and Prime Minister reaffirmed the unbreakable bonds between the United States and Israel.’

After the strike, Netanyahu praised the US and Donald Trump and gave his full support behind the killing, saying the President acted with ‘determination, strongly and swiftly’.

Pompeo has since briefed other foreign ministers in Britain, Germany, and China, stressing that Trump was countering a real and imminent threat to US lives in the region.

He also said the President is committed to deescalating tensions despite the initial outcry after the attack.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7851877/Benjamin-Netanyahu-warned-plans-kill-Qassem-Soleimani-ahead-drone-strike.html

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Trump threatens Iraq with ‘very big sanctions’ unless it pays BILLIONS back for an air base if US troops forced to withdraw

RT news [Russia] — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 04:50:03 +0000

FILE PHOTO: © REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

Iraq should brace itself for sanctions that’ll make the ones placed on Iran look pale in comparison if it kicks out the US troops without first covering the costs the US spent on its airbase there, US President Donald Trump said.

“We have a very extraordinarily expensive airbase that’s there. It cost billions of dollars to build, long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it,” Trump told reporters on board of the Air Force One on Sunday.

The punitive measures that the US is ready to slap on its supposed ally in the fight against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) will be even harsher than the crippling sanctions already in effect against Tehran, the US leader said.

“If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis, we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.”

Trump’s dire warning to Iraq comes after Iraqi MPs passed a non-binding resolution, championed by the country’s caretaker prime minister, and asking the Iraqi government to expel foreign troops by canceling a request for military assistance from the US-led coalition.

The resolution, adopted earlier on Sunday, envisions that some of the foreign troops might still stay in Iraq for training purposes, but the number of foreign instructors deemed necessary should be reported back by the Iraqi authorities.

‘We are not allowed to touch Iran’s cultural sites? Does not work that way’

As he was unleashing his fiery tirade, Trump doubled down on his threat to wipe out Iranian cultural sites in retaliation for potential future attacks from Tehran, which vowed to avenge the assassination of its top general, Qassem Soleimani, by the US.

Accusing Iran of “torturing” and “maiming” American soldiers in suicide attacks and by planting roadside bombs, Trump suggested the attacks on the US troops justify a potential war crime – the destruction of a nation’s cultural heritage.

“They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn’t work that way.”

Trump’s statement on Saturday that the US might fire upon 52 Iranian sites, important to the Islamic Republic’s people and its culture, has courted controversy in the US with many of the Trump administration’s critics noting that Washington would mimic the methods of its declared adversary – Islamic State terrorists – notorious for damaging and destroying globally-significant cultural sites in Syria and Iraq.

Tensions between the US and Iran have been mounting ever since a series of US airstrikes against Shia Kataib Hezbollah militia in Syria and Iraq on December 29 killed at least 25 fighters, triggering a siege of the US Embassy in Baghdad that saw demonstrators chanting “Death to America” and setting checkpoints on fire. The US pinned the blame on the showdown at its diplomatic compound on Tehran and its “proxies.” On Thursday, the US launched a drone strike at a convoy traveling near Baghdad Airport, killing Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander – Qassem Soleimani – along with a dozen other senior Iraqi militia leaders.

The murder of Soleimani, who played a key role in the fight against IS in Syria and Iraq, has drawn outrage across Iran and Iraq, with Tehran vowing to avenge the assassination, calling it “an act of international terrorism.” Washington, meanwhile, insists that Soleimani was the mastermind behind a spate of attacks on American personnel, including at the US Embassy, and says he was plotting new assaults.

Source: https://www.rt.com/news/477539-iraq-sanctions-base-withdrawl/

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Exclusive: Anti-Putin activist says Russian government likely scared by Trump’s attack on Iran

Matthew Rozsa — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 04:31:21 +0000

Bill Browder, a British businessman, and anti-Putin activist discusses Putin’s response to Trump’s attack on Iran.

Bill Browder — the British businessman and anti-Vladimir Putin activist who has successfully pushed for sanctions on Russia for its human rights violations — spoke with Salon to analyze why Russian officials and media outlets are condemning President Donald Trump’s decision to have a drone strike assassinate Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

“I think that more than anything, Putin is absolutely terrified by the assassination of Soleimani,” Browder told Salon by email on Saturday. “If the US can go after a high-level military enemy from the air with drones and kill him, it means that the US can go after any of their political and military enemies in the same way. At some point, it could be Putin’s turn.”

He added, “Putin was traumatized after Gaddafi’s killing and this opens up a whole new range of terrible possibilities for him. Putin only respects extreme violence and power and this speaks to him like nothing else.”

In the aftermath of Soleimani’s assassination, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to Soleimani’s killing as an “adventurist” step by the Trump administration and said “Soleimani was devoted to protecting Iran’s national interests. We express our sincere condolences to the Iranian people.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Soleimani’s assassination “grossly violates international law” and claimed that “the targeted actions of a UN member state to eliminate officials of another UN member state, moreover, on the territory of a third sovereign state without its knowledge, flagrantly violate the principles of international law and deserve condemnation.”

Meanwhile, a Russian state television reporter, Stanislav Khamdokhov of RIA Novosti, described the assassination as “a terrorist act” by the American government and RIA Novosti columnist Irina Alksnis argued that “Americans are steadily losing political positions in the Middle East. Russia, Turkey, and Iran are stepping on their heels. Washington simply does not have the strength to challenge Moscow in Syria or Tehran in Iraq.”

Russia is not alone in reacting negatively to the assassination of Soleimani. The Iraqi parliament voted on Sunday to kick American troops out of their country, while the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement through a spokesperson that he is “deeply concerned” about the assassination and believes “this is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint. The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer told a news conference in Berlin, “The American action was a reaction to a whole series of military provocations which Iran is responsible for. We are at a dangerous point of escalation. It’s now about contributing to a de-escalation with calm and restraint.” Similarly, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that “we have always recognized the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force led by Qassem Soleimani. Following his death, we urge all parties to de-escalate. Further conflict is in none of our interests.”

By contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Soleimani was “responsible for the death of American citizens and many other innocent people. He was planning more such attacks. President Trump deserves all the credit for acting swiftly, forcefully and decisively.” He concluded that “Israel stands with the United States in its just struggle for peace, security, and self-defense.”

MATTHEW ROZSA

Matthew Rozsa is a breaking news writer for Salon. He holds an MA in History from Rutgers University-Newark and is ABD in his Ph.D. program in History at Lehigh University. His work has appeared in Mic, Quartz, and MSNBC.

MORE FROM MATTHEW ROZSA

Source: https://www.salon.com/2020/01/05/exclusive-anti-putin-activist-says-russian-government-likely-scared-by-trumps-attack-on-iran/

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Iran Ends Nuclear Limits as Killing of Iranian General Upends Mideast

Ben Hubbard, Alissa J. Rubin, Farnaz Fassihi and Steven Erlanger — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 23:38:24 +0000

The consequences of the American assassination of a senior Iranian commander are mounting.

BEIRUT — The consequences of the American assassination of a top Iranian general rippled across the Middle East and beyond on Sunday, with Iran ending commitments it made to limit its nuclear fuel production and Iraqi lawmakers voting to expel American forces from their country.

Steeling for retaliation from Iran, an American-led coalition in Iraq and Syria suspended the campaign it has waged against the Islamic State for years, and hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the street to mourn the assassinated general, Qassim Suleimani.

Warning Iran not to attack, President Trump said the United States had pinpointed 52 targets in Iran — including cultural sites. The sites, he said, represented the 52 American hostages held at the United States Embassy in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Amid outrage in Iran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif declared that “targeting cultural sites is a war crime” and predicted that the “end of U.S. malign presence in West Asia has begun.”

Mr. Trump has said that the killing of General Suleimani on Friday was aimed at preventing war.

But so far, it has unleashed a host of unanticipated consequences that could dramatically alter where the United States operates. Increasingly, the killing appeared to be generating effects far beyond the United States’ ability to control.

That may include Iran’s nuclear future.

On Sunday, the Iranian government said it was abandoning its “final limitations in the nuclear deal,” the international agreement intended to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The decision leaves no restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, the statement said, including on uranium enrichment, production, research and expansion.

Iran will, however, continue its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and return to the nuclear deal if the economic sanctions imposed on it are removed and Iran’s interests guaranteed, the government said. American sanctions have hit Iran’s oil-based economy particularly hard.

General Suleimani was a towering figure both in Iran and across the Middle East, where he cultivated proxy militias in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Since he was killed in an American drone strike at the Baghdad airport on Friday alongside a powerful Iraqi militia leader, Iran and its partners have stepped up calls for vengeance, although they have yet to follow through on the threats.

American allies have largely kept quiet so as not to put themselves in the line of fire.

Lawmakers in Iraq voted on Sunday to require the government to end the presence of American troops in the country after Mr. Trump ordered the assassination on Iraqi soil.

Credit…Murtaja Lateef/EPA, via Shutterstock

The vote will not be final until it is signed by the prime minister, and it was unclear whether Iraq’s current caretaker government had the authority to end the relationship with the United States military.

Few doubted, however, that the country would take whatever legal actions were necessary to compel a United States departure over the coming months. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi drafted the language and submitted the bill approved by Parliament on Sunday, leaving little doubt about his support.

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Iraqi lawmakers in Parliament called on the government to oust U.S. troops.

Although the vote in Parliament was 170-0, lawmakers were more divided on the issue of ousting American troops than that tally may suggest.

Many of the 328 members of Parliament, primarily those representing the country’s ethnic Kurdish and Sunni Muslim minorities, did not attend the session and did not vote. Iraq’s Shiite Muslim majority dominates the Iraqi government.

While groups that grew out of Shiite militia organizations have pushed hard for the expulsion, Sunni Muslim factions and the Kurds have wanted the United States to stay.

The legislation threads a fine needle: While using strong language demanding that the government “end any foreign presence on Iraqi soil and prevent the use of Iraqi airspace, soil and water for any reason” by foreign forces, it gives no timetable for doing so.

It would end the mission approved in 2014 that gave the United States the explicit task of helping Iraqi forces fight the Islamic State. That agreement gave the Americans substantial latitude to launch attacks and use Iraqi airspace.

But the measure would leave in place the Strategic Framework Agreement, which allows an American troop presence in Iraq in some form, although only “at the invitation of the Iraqi government.”

Credit…Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office

On Sunday, the American-led coalition in Iraq and Syria said it would pause its yearslong mission of fighting the Islamic State and training local forces in both countries.

A pullout of the estimated 5,200 American troops in Iraq could cripple the fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS, and allow its resurgence. A smaller contingent of about 1,000 United States troops are in eastern Syria.

The general’s killing unleashed calls for vengeance in both Iraq and Iran, and reinforced solidarity among hard-liners and moderates in Iran against the United States. After the vote in Iraq calling on the government to expel American troops, Iranian officials reacted with congratulatory messages.

Hesameddin Ashena, a top adviser to President Hassan Rouhani, wrote on Twitter, “Expanding friendship with our neighbors and domestic unity are the best gifts for protecting our national security.”

In Iraq, the attack was seen as a violation of the nation’s sovereignty. On Sunday, Iraq’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the American ambassador in Baghdad.

In Iran, it was viewed as tantamount to an act of war. Hossein Dehghan, a military adviser to Mr. Khamenei, told CNN that Iran’s response would include an attack on “U.S. military targets.”

As the Middle East braced for Iranian retaliation, which analysts said was all but inevitable and American officials said they expected within weeks, Tehran and Washington ratcheted up the rhetoric.

Members of Iran’s Parliament chanted, “Death to America!” en masse in the chamber on Sunday in protest over General Suleimani’s killing, television footage showed.

The chants came as Mr. Trump fired off a series of Twitter ripostes to the growing anger, saying that the United States had already chosen 52 targets in Iran.

Iran summoned the Swiss envoy representing American interests in Tehran on Sunday to protest Mr. Trump’s threat that Washington would target Iranian sites. And Mr. Trump’s tweet became a rallying cry among Iranians, many of whom shared it widely on social media with the message, “Attend the funeral for our cultural heritage.”

Iran’s information and telecommunications minister, Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi, denounced Mr. Trump as “a terrorist in a suit.”

“Like ISIS, Like Hitler, Like Genghis!” Mr. Jahromi said on Twitter. ”They all hate cultures. Trump is a terrorist in a suit. He will learn history very soon that NOBODY can defeat ‘the Great Iranian Nation & Culture.’”

Credit…Mohammad Hassanzadeh/Tasnim News Agency, via Associated Press

The attack on the Iranian general left America’s European allies scrambling to address the safety of their troops in the Middle East and complaining that they had been given no warning about the strike. European leaders called for a de-escalation of the tensions between Iran and the United States.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, invited Mr. Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, to Brussels for talks. Mr. Borrell said that he had spoken with Mr. Zarif, urging “Iran to exercise restraint and carefully consider any reaction to avoid further escalation, which harms the entire region and its people.”

Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, said he would seek direct talks with Iran. Europe wants to continue the fight against the Islamic State, Mr. Maas said, and Germany is anxious about the safety of its troops training Iraqi forces.

Germany’s defense minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, said in a statement: “Iraq cannot be allowed to sink into chaos, and certainly not under the control of extremists. Therefore, it is important not to let up now in the fight against Islamic State.”

In general, the Europeans did not specifically criticize Mr. Trump for his decision, and generally share the American view that Iran has been a destabilizing force in the Middle East and a supporter of terrorism. At the same time, no European government praised the killing of General Suleimani, emphasizing instead the increased risks to their citizens, troops and interests.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was reported to be angry with Mr. Trump for not informing him or other allies with troops in Iraq about the decision to kill General Suleimani. While carried out by the Americans, the killing is seen as having put all European citizens and troops in Iraq and the wider region at heightened risk.

Mr. Johnson, who was said to be returning early from a vacation in the Caribbean, is expected to discuss the issues with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Mr. Trump in the next few days, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo complained that the response by European allies had not been “helpful.” He told Fox News in an interview: “Frankly, the Europeans haven’t been as helpful as I wish that they could be. The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well.”

Dominic Raab, Britain’s foreign minister, who is scheduled to travel to Washington this week to meet Mr. Pompeo, said all countries had a right to defend themselves.

Asked in an interview with the BBC whether the killing was legal, Mr. Raab said, “There is a right of self-defense.” He said he did not agree that the killing was an act of war, and described General Suleimani to Sky News, another British broadcaster, as a “regional menace.”

But Mr. Raab also said that he had spoken to Iraq’s prime minister and president to urge a de-escalation of tensions in the region, and that he planned to speak to Iran’s foreign minister.

Credit…Mohammad Hossein Thaghi/Tasnim News Agency, via Associated Press

In particular, the Europeans have tried to persuade Iran to keep to the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action; Mr. Trump pulled the United States out of it in May 2018, reimposing harsh economic sanctions on Tehran. Iran had slowly abandoned its adherence to parts of the deal before its announcement on Sunday.

The Europeans are also working to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping. About one-third of the world’s oil tankers use the waterway, which Iran has intermittently threatened to close. Last July, Iranian forces seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait, trying to pressure the world to allow its oil exports despite American sanctions.

On Saturday, Britain’s defense minister, Ben Wallace, said he had ordered the country’s navy to accompany all British-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

France has also stepped up diplomatic initiatives to ease tensions. President Macron spoke with President Barham Salih of Iraq and the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi.

On Sunday, Kataib Hezbollah, the Iraqi armed group arguably closest to Iran, warned Iraqi troops on bases that also house United States forces that they should stay at least 3,000 feet from their American counterparts starting on Sunday evening, and not allow themselves to be used as human shields.

Alissa J. Rubin reported from Baghdad, Ben Hubbard from Beirut, Farnaz Fassihi from New York and Steven Erlanger from Brussels.

Ben Hubbard is the Beirut bureau chief. He has spent more than a decade in the Arab world, including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Yemen. @NYTBen • Facebook

Alissa Johannsen Rubin is the Baghdad Bureau chief for The New York Times. @Alissanyt

Steven Erlanger is the chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe, based in Brussels. He previously reported from London, Paris, Jerusalem, Berlin, Prague, Moscow and Bangkok. @StevenErlanger

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/world/middleeast/iran-general-soleimani-iraq.html

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Trump says Iran will be hit ‘very fast’ if they strike American assets

Fox News — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 01:46:26 +0000

The post Trump says Iran will be hit ‘very fast’ if they strike American assets first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Iraq votes to expel U.S. troops after Iran Gen. Qasem Soleimani’s killing

Kim Hjelmgaard - USA Today — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 00:09:09 +0000

In a sign of Iraq’s mounting anger over a U.S. drone attack that killed Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani, as well as an Iraqi leader of Tehran-backed militias, Iraq’s Parliament on Sunday voted to expel U.S. military forces from the country.

The development came as Iran said it was all but abandoning the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that the Trump administration exited in May 2018. Since the U.S. withdrawal from the accord, tensions with Iran have steadily increased.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi told lawmakers that a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops, including U.S. ones, was required “for the sake of our national sovereignty.” About 5,000 American troops are in various parts of Iraq.

Mahdi described the strike authorized by President Donald Trump as a “political assassination” and said it was “time for American troops to leave.”

Iran official on Soleimani killing: ‘The response for a military action is military action’

The resolution was supported by a majority of about 180 lawmakers present in Parliament, according to Iraqi media. It was backed by most Shiite members of parliament, who hold a majority of seats. Many Sunni and Kurdish legislators did not show up for the session, likely because they oppose the initiative.

Tensions rising

The vote came two days after Soleimani was killed inside Iraq, dramatically ratcheting up tensions between Washington, and Tehran and Baghdad. It was not immediately clear to what extent the resolution would be implemented. It is nonbinding. The resolution specifically calls for ending an agreement in which Washington sent troops to Iraq more than four years ago to help in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Ahead of the vote, U.S.-led coalition forces battling the remnants of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria announced a “pause” in operations precipitated by the need to protect U.S. and coalition troops on bases in Iraq. Iran’s leadership has vowed revenge for Soleimani’s killing and signaled it may target U.S. military personnel in the region.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened “severe revenge.”

Iran moving away from nuclear accord

Iran said Sunday it is ceasing to abide by all “operational restrictions” on its enrichment of uranium, part of the terms of the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

The move marks the “fifth and final” time Iran has moved away from the accord, and effectively marks the end of the deal for Tehran, although it said it would return to full compliance with the accord if the U.S. lifts its sanctions against it.

Heightened tensions: Trump defends Soleimani killing informal notice to Congress

The U.S. action against Soleimani, Iran’s de facto second most powerful figure who oversaw a vast network of pro-Iran militant groups from Iraq to Yemen, has drawn strong criticism from key U.S. allies and foreign policy experts, who believe it will destabilize an already tense and volatile region struggling to overcome decades of sectarianism, political strife, corruption, and economic mismanagement.

Trump’s move has created “a more dangerous world,” Amelie de Montchalin, France’s deputy minister for foreign affairs, told French radio over the weekend.

White House goes on media offensive

On Saturday, Trump tweeted that if Iran attacks any American assets to avenge Soleimani, the U.S. has identified 52 targets across the Islamic Republic that “WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.” Some are “important to Iran & Iranian culture,” Trump wrote on Twitter, apparently drawing Iran’s rich cultural sites into the tensions.

Hackers set sights on the US: DHS website hacked with pro-Iranian messages, an image of bloodied Trump

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the strike against Soleimani, during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. He said Washington would have been “culpably negligent” if it didn’t launch the attack and that he was “100%” certain America was safer because of the strike. He also said the Trump administration is prepared for an Iranian response. “It may be that there’s a little noise here in the interim, that the Iranians make a choice to respond,” he said. “I hope that they don’t.”

U.S. vs. Iran: Anti-war protesters organize around the US following the killing of Iran general

Asked about the Iraqi Parliament’s vote on “Fox News Sunday,” the U.S.’s top diplomat said that “we are confident the Iraqi people want the United States to continue to be there to fight the anti-terror campaign. And we’ll continue to do all the things we need to do to keep America safe.” Pompeo added: “We’ll have to take a look at what we do when the Iraqi leadership and government makes a decision, but the American people should know we’ll make the right decision. We will take actions that frankly the previous administration refused to take to do just that.”

Iran mourns Soleimani

Soleimani’s body was returned to Iran early Sunday for a funeral and burial in his hometown, Kerman, in central Iran. Hundreds of thousands of mourners took to the streets across the nation to pay their respects to a figure who is widely hailed as a war hero in Iran, but who the Trump administration labeled a terrorist.

Soleimani presided over Iran’s foreign military and intelligence operations going back two decades. During this time, the State Department says he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and for numerous attacks on U.S. military installations.

US troops prepare for deployment to the Middle East amid anti-war protests

13 PHOTOS

US Army Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division wait to be deployed to the Middle East on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020 from Fort Bragg, N.C. Troops will deploy to the Middle East as tensions between the US and Iran continue to rise. MELISSA SUE GERRITS, THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER VIA USA TODAY NETWORK

A soldier covers his weapon while walking in the rain at Green Ramp at Fort Bragg. MELISSA SUE GERRITS, THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER VIA USA TODAY NETWORK

Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division arrive at Green Ramp on Fort Bragg before deploying to the Middle East. MELISSA SUE GERRITS, THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER VIA USA TODAY NETWORK

U.S. troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division arrive at Green Ramp as they head out for a deployment. ANDREW CRAFT, GETTY IMAGES

An 82nd Airborne paratrooper bound for the US Central Command area of operations checks his weapon. HUBERT DELANEY III, US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE VIA GETTY IMAGES

U.S. troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division get some rest at Green Ramp before they head out. ANDREW CRAFT, GETTY IMAGES

A rifle is seen as U.S. troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division wait to be deployed to the Middle East. ANDREW CRAFT, GETTY IMAGES

A soldier with the 82nd Airborne Division rests after having met with his unit at 4 am at Fort Bragg. MELISSA SUE GERRITS, THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER VIA USA TODAY NETWORK

Soldiers with the 82nds Airborne Division load a bus to be transported to a military transport aircraft at Fort Bragg. MELISSA SUE GERRITS, THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER VIA USA TODAY NETWORK

US Air Force personnel load 82nd Airborne Division equipment onto a C-17 Globemaster aircraft bound for the US Central Command area of operations JUSTIN STAFFORD, US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE VIA GETTY IMAGES

82nd Airborne paratroopers march to board a civilian aircraft bound for the US Central Command area. HUBERT DELANEY III, US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE VIA GETTY IMAGES

The media films the flight line where U.S. troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are being deployed to the Middle East. ANDREW CRAFT, GETTY IMAGES

US Air Force personnel load 82nd Airborne Division equipment onto a C-17 Globemaster aircraft bound for the US Central Command area of operations. JUSTIN STAFFORD, US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE VIA GETTY IMAGES

Contributing: William Cummings and Courtney Subramanian

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/01/05/iraq-expel-us-troops-iran-gen-qasem-soleimanis-killing/2817992001/

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