Trump’s order to assassinate Iranian General Soleimani draws swift reaction from US officials

US President Donald Trump’s decision to order the assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani has prompted swift reaction from US officials and lawmakers in Congress.

News ID: 448291

Date: 03 January 2020 - 08:41

RNA - Former US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden warned that “Iran will surely respond.”

“President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox, and he owes the American people an explanation of the strategy and plan to keep safe our troops and embassy personnel, our people and our interest, both here at home and abroad, and our partners throughout the region and beyond,” he said on Twitter.

US Repetitive Ilhan Omar, a fierce critic of Trump, attacked the president Thursday night for his order to kill the top Iranian general.

“So what if Trump wants war, knows this leads to war and needs the distraction? Real question is, will those with congressional authority step in and stop him? I know I will,” she tweeted.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren called the US attack a “reckless move” that “increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict.”

Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), have been killed in US airstrikes in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), were killed in US airstrikes in the Iraqi capital Baghdad early on Friday.

The IRGC confirmed in a statement that Soleimani and al-Muhandis were martyred in the attack carried out by US helicopters. The Iraqi pro-government group also confirmed the incident.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been rising ever since Trump in 2018 withdrew the US from the nuclear deal that Tehran had signed in 2015 with the US and five other nations.

Trump’s policy on Iran has been defined by military threats and economic sanctions. He adopted a hostile approach from day one. However, the so-called maximum pressure campaign has only backfired.

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