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Donald Trump vows to hit 52 sites 'very hard' if Iran retaliates for Suleimani killing – the guardian, theguardian.com

Donald Trump vows to hit 52 sites 'very hard' if Iran retaliates for Suleimani killing – the guardian, theguardian.com


Donald Trumphas threatened to hit Iranian sites “very hard” if Iran attacks Americans or US assets in retaliation for the drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani and an Iraqi militia leader.

Showing no signs of seeking to ease the tensions raised by the strikethat killed Suleimani and Iranian-backed Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandisat Baghdad airport, Trump issued a stern threat to Iran on Twitter on Saturday. The strike ordered by the US president has raised thespecter of wider conflictin the Middle East.

Iran, Trump wrote, “is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets” in response to Suleimani’s death. Trump said the US had “targeted 444 Iranian sites” and that some were “at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, andIranitself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD ”.

“The USA wants no more threats!” Trump said, adding that the (targets represented the 52 Americans who were held hostage in Iran for 823 days after being seized at the US embassy in Tehran in November (********************************.

Donald J. Trump(@ realDonaldTrump)

Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently ….

January 4, 1213593965838163968

Donald J. Trump(@ realDonaldTrump)hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, ​​and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have …..January 4, 1213593965838163968

Trump did not identify the sites. The Pentagon referred questions about the matter to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Asked about Trump’s tweets during an interview with Fox News, White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said: “The president is trying to make it clear to the Iranians that this is a very bad path for them to go down . ”

O’Brien added: “The Iranians should be very careful … We’ve said we consider the matter resolved – if they decide to move forward against the United States there will be severe consequences as the president pointed out. ”

Trump’s suggestion that the US could strike targets important to Iranian culture raised eyebrows.

Colin Kahl, a former Obama administration national security official, wrote on Twitter that he “found it hard to believe the Pentagon would provide Trump targeting options that include Iranian cultural sites. Trump may not care about the laws of war, but DoD planners and lawyers do … and targeting cultural sites is war crime. ”

The series of tweets came as the White House sent to Congress a formal notification under the War Powers Act of the drone strike, a senior administration official said.

US law requires notification within hours of the introduction of American forces into an armed conflict or a situation that could lead to war.

The notification was classified and it was not known if a public version would be released. House speaker Nancy Pelosi said the classified document suggests Congress and the American people are being left in the dark about national security.

Thousands of mournerstook to the streets in Iraq after the strike, including many militiamen in uniform for whom Muhandis and Suleimani were heroes. They carried portraits of both men and plastered them on walls and armored personnel carriers in the procession. Chants of “Death to America” and “No No Israel” rang out.

On Saturday evening, a rocket fell inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone near the US embassy, ​​another hit the nearby Jadriya neighborhood and two more rockets were fired at the Balad air base north of the city, but no one was killed, the Iraqi military said in a statement. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Gholamali Abuhamzeh, a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said Tehran would punish Americans “wherever they are in reach”, and raised the prospect of possible attacks on ships in the Gulf.

Iraqi Kata’ib Hezbollah militia warned Iraqi security forces to stay away from US bases inIraq“By a distance not less than a thousand meters starting Sunday evening”, reported Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV, which is close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Trump said on Friday that Suleimani had been plotting “imminent and sinister” attacks on American diplomats and military personnel. Democratic critics said the Republican president’s action was reckless and risked more bloodshed in a dangerous region.

With security worries rising after Friday’s strike, the NATO alliance and a separate US-led mission suspended their programs to train Iraqi security and armed forces, officials said.

France stepped up diplomatic initiatives on Saturday to ease tensions. French president Emmanuel Macron talked with Iraq president Barham Salih, Macron’s office said. Macron also spoke with the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

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