U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that there was “no scepticism” among senior U.S. leaders about the intelligence behind the decision to kill a top Iranian general, and that any target the U.S. may strike in Iran would be “lawful”.
“The intelligence assessment made clear that no action allowing Soleimani to continue his plotting and his planning – his terror campaign – created more risk than taking the action that we took last week,” Pompeo said.
The top U.S. diplomat was defending President Donald Trump’s order to kill Qassem Soleimani, the powerful commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, on broadcaster ABC.
Trump said on Friday that Soleimani “was plotting imminent and sinister attacks” against U.S. personnel in the region, but did not reveal specific threats.
While critics question the legality and consequences of the attack, which sharply increased tensions in the region, Pompeo insisted that “the world is a safer place” following Soleimani’s death.
“This was a bad guy. We took him off the playing field; and that’s important because this was a fellow who was the glue, who was conducting active plotting against the United States of America,” Pompeo said.
Asked if congressional authorization would be sought for future actions against Iran, Pompeo said the administration had the authority it needed for its moves so far and would continue to do things “appropriately, lawfully and constitutionally.”
Pompeo was also asked about Trump’s Saturday warning that if Tehran carries out its promised “harsh revenge”, the U.S. would target 52 sites in the Islamic Republic.
The tweet raised concerns because targeting cultural sites is mostly prohibited under international laws of armed conflict.
“Every target that we strike will be a lawful target,” Pompeo answered.
Iraqi parliament votes for foreign troops to leave after U.S. strike
Iraq’s parliament has approved a resolution to oblige the government to end the presence of foreign troops linked to a U.S.-led alliance fighting Islamic State.
In an emergency session, the parliament issued a resolution obliging the government to rescind its previous request for help from the anti-Islamic State coalition after the defeat of the extremist militia.
The parliament also called for the government to prevent any foreign troops from using Iraqi airspace for any reason.
The move comes after a U.S. airstrike on Friday near Baghdad airport killed a senior Iranian general and Iraqi Shiite militia leader along with several Iran-allied militiamen.
Soleimani killing a ‘new phase’ for Middle East, says Hezbollah chief
The chief of Lebanon’s Iran-allied Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, said on Sunday that the U.S. killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq was a “new phase” for the Middle East.
“Today we commemorate and honour a great Islamic leader.
“His killing marks the beginning of a new phase and a new date not only for Iraq or Iraq, but to the whole region,” Nasrallah said at a rally in southern Beirut.
As head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, Soleimani wielded influence in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Middle East where the Islamic Republic has a foothold.
He was killed in a targeted drone strike on his convoy near Baghdad airport.
Addressing his followers via a TV video link, Nasrallah said that Soleimani’s killing was “not an ambiguous assassination. This is a blatant and clear crime.”
He called on the Iraqi government to retaliate for Soleimani’s killing by ending the U.S. military presence in the country.
The death of Soleimani is not an Iranian issue, said Nasrallah.
“It is the issue of all groups of resistance in the region – in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen,” he added.
Nasrallah’s followers packed the complex where the commemoration was held and nearby streets.
As he spoke, they chanted: “Death to America.”
Clad in black, they carried Hezbollah and Iranian flags.
Portraits of Soleimani were displayed along the streets in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Duterte tells military to prepare to evacuate Filipinos in Iran, Iraq
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday directed the military to prepare to evacuate thousands of Filipinos in Iran and Iraq if hostilities escalate in the Middle East.
Duterte issued the directive during an emergency meeting with defence, military and police officials, said Arsenio Andolong, spokesman for the Department of National Defence.
“The sole agenda was how to insure the safety of our countrymen in the Middle East, especially those in Iraq and Iran as the tension between the United States and Iran rises,” Andolong said in a statement.
“The president tasked the armed forces to prepare its air and naval assets to evacuate and bring home our countrymen if and when open hostilities erupt in the Middle East that may endanger their lives,” he added.
There are currently 1,600 Filipinos in Iran and 6,000 in Iraq, Andolong said.
The death of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike has stoked fears of a new war in the Middle East.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to revenge Soleimani’s killing, while President Donald Trump warned that the U.S. would target 52 sites in the Islamic Republic if Tehran retaliates.
German foreign minister seeks talks to help ease tension with Iran
German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass has said he wants to seek talks with both Iran and key international partners to ease tensions following the US airstrike which killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
“In the coming days, we will do all we can to work against a further escalation of the situation — at the United Nations, in the EU, and in a dialogue with our partners in the region, including talks with Iran,” Maas told the Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
Iran has vowed revenge in the wake of the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
Maas said the situation had become “more unpredictable.”
“Everyone must be aware that any provocation could now lead to an uncontrollable spiral of violence, with unforeseeable consequences for the entire region and also for our security in Europe,” the German official asserted.
Maas also mentioned three goals. “First: avoid a war-like escalation. Second: preserve Iraq’s stability and integrity and third: make sure that ISIS (the terrorist militia Islamic State) does not gain ground again in the slipstream of these upheavals.”
According to Maas, there is currently no acute danger for German tourists in the Gulf region: “So far, there have been no concrete threats against Germans in the main travel areas there,” he said. “But the situation in the region has become more volatile.”