Donald Trump reiterates threat to target Iranian cultural sites
- by Nick Cohen
- in Industry
- — Jan 7, 2020
In case you missed it, Soleimani, who led Iran's powerful and internationally influential Quds Force, was killed on Friday by a USA drone strike in neighbouring Iraq.
U.S. President Donald Trump responded to the Iraq Parliament's troop withdrawal vote with a monetary threat, saying the U.S. expected to be paid for its military investments in Iraq before leaving and threatening economic sanctions if the U.S.is not treated properly.
In Iraq, meanwhile, lawmakers voted in favor of a resolution calling for an end to the foreign military presence in the country, including the estimated 5,200 USA troops stationed to help fight Islamic State extremists.
On Saturday, Trump said that the United States had identified 52 targets that would be hit "very fast & very hard" if Iran attacks USA individuals or assets.
The letter comes as the U.S. is deploying thousands of additional troops to the Middle East following the airstrike that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
Outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi made the statement at a parliament session where lawmakers called for the expulsion of USA troops from the country in reaction to the American drone attack that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad.
In the weeks before Soleimani's death, there was widespread civil unrest against the government with estimates that at least 400 people were killed.
Iran has vowed to retaliate against the United States, and on Sunday, the country announced it will no longer abide by the uranium enrichment limits agreed upon under the 2015 nuclear deal.
Lawmakers voted Sunday in favor of a resolution that calls for ending foreign military presence in the country.
"I really worry that the actions the president took will get us into what he calls another endless war in the Middle East".
The reward for Trump's death was confirmed on Sunday by news editor M. Hanif Jazayeri, according to fact-checking site Snopes. And it did not back off from earlier promises that it wouldn't seek a nuclear weapon. They're allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. It also said it will still cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Soleimani, 62, spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East, and was regarded as a terrorist by the US.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the killing of Soleimani was a breach of worldwide law and that any targeting of cultural sites would constitute a war crime. "It doesn't work that way", Trump told reporters. "And we're not allowed to touch their cultural site?"
WATCH: Hundreds of thousands of Iranians attended government-organized funeral rallies for Qasem Soleimani in Ahvaz, near Iran's border with Iraq, and in the Shi'ite holy city of Mashhad on January 5.
Soleimani will be buried in his hometown of Kerman.