Donald Trump warns of attacks on 52 sites if Iran retaliates over Soleimani killing
Donald Trump has warned Iran against retaliating over the death of the head of its Quds Force.
President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Iran on Sunday, threatening to hit dozens of targets in the Islamic Republic “very fast and very hard” if it retaliates for the targeted killing of the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
The series of tweets came as the White House sent to congress a formal notification under the War Powers Act of the drone strike on Major General Qassem Soleimani, a senior administration official said. US law required notification within 48 hours of the introduction of American forces into an armed conflict or a situation that could lead to war.
It also came as a group claiming to be hackers from Iran breached the website of a little-known US government agency and posted messages vowing revenge for Washington’s killing of General Soleimani.
The website of the Federal Depository Library Program was replaced with a page titled “Iranian Hackers!” that displayed images of Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the Iranian flag.
The White House notification to congress was classified and it was not known if a public version would be released. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the classified document “suggests congress and the American people are being left in the dark about our national security”.
In unusually specific language, Mr Trump tweeted that his administration had already targeted 52 Iranian sites, “some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture.” He linked the number of sites to the number of hostages, also 52, held by Iran for nearly 15 months after protesters overran the US embassy in Tehran in 1979.
....targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2020
The Islamic republic has vowed revenge for the Trump-ordered airstrike that killed Soleimani and several senior Iraqi militants on Friday. Mr Trump appeared to respond to such threats with tweets justifying Soleimani’s killing and matching the bellicose language from Iran.
“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 hundreds of Iranian protesters,” the President tweeted.
“He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. The USA wants no more threats!”
Trump’s reference to targeting sites “important to Iran & the Iranian culture” could raise questions about whether striking such targets would violate international agreements. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols, ratified by scores of nations in recent years, states “cultural objects and places of worship” may not be attacked and outlaws “indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations”.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, campaigning in Iowa, questioned whether Mr Trump was acting alone or with support of allies.
“We have no idea — I have no idea — whether he has any plan at all,” the former vice-president said. “But when he makes statements like that, it just seems to me to be he’s going off on a tweet storm on his own, and it’s incredibly dangerous and irresponsible.”
The notification document sent to the congressional leadership was entirely classified, according to a senior Democratic aide and a congressional aide.
The Pentagon is sending nearly 3000 more troops to the Middle East and some are on standby to travel to Beirut if more security is needed at the US embassy there. Hundreds of soldiers form the 82nd Airborne Division deployed on Sunday from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Kuwait.
Ms Pelosi said the “highly unusual” decision to classify the document compounds concerns from congress. “This document prompts serious and urgent questions about the timing, manner and justification of the administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran.’’ she said. Ms Pelosi said the “provocative, escalatory and disproportionate military engagement continues to put service members, diplomats and citizens of America and our allies in danger.”
British troops in Iraq are to be given greater firepower to protect themselves and guard British diplomats from revenge strikes by Iran. Two Royal Navy warships in the Gulf — the destroyer HMS Defender and frigate HMS Montrose — were ordered to begin “close escort” of oil tankers and other vessels amid fears Iran could seize or sink western ships.
AP, AFP, The Sunday Times
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