Pompeo says US ‘got it right’ by killing Soleimani as Iran vows ‘harsh revenge’

Trump had followed up on the airstrike by vowing that, if Tehran retaliates, then the U.S. will attack Iranian sites “some at a very high level important to Iran the Iranian culture.”

On Air Force One on Sunday, Trump doubled down: “They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people, they’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural sites. It doesn’t work that way.”

But the Pentagon distanced itself from this threat shortly after. “We will follow the laws of armed conflict,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said when asked about Trump’s remarks.

Asked if that meant “no” because targeting cultural sites constitutes a war crime under those laws, the nation’s top general replied, “That’s the laws of armed conflict.”

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have ratcheted up since Trump withdrew from the Obama administration’s landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. That nuclear agreement lifted sanctions that crippled Iran’s economy and cut its oil exports roughly in half. In exchange for sanctions relief, Iran accepted limits on its nuclear program and allowed international inspectors into its facilities.

Last May, Iran stopped complying with some of its commitments under the deal, which had been re-brokered with global powers after Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018. Trump had also re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

After Soleimani was killed, Iran said it would no longer respect any of the limits in the 2015 nuclear deal. But Pompeo on Tuesday still downplayed Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.

“President Trump could not be more clear. On our watch, Iran will not get a nuclear weapon and as we came into office Iran was on a pathway provided by the nuclear deal which clearly gave them the opportunity to have those nuclear weapons,” Pompeo said. “We won’t let that happen.”

Read more: Iran will no longer abide by uranium enrichment limits under 2015 nuclear deal

“I think this is kind of a stain on our reputation and it raises questions about the strategic vision and priorities of the administration,” William Hartung, director of the Center for International Policy’s Arms and Security Project, told CNBC.

“I think people need to think about what is at stake here and how bad it could get if we don’t step back from the brink and think of some diplomatic approaches and not just tit-for-tat military strikes,” he said, adding that a war with Iran would be “even more challenging than the war with Iraq.”

“It’s a much larger country, it’s more complicated terrain and it would have a more rallied unified population,” Hartung said.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/07/pompeo-says-us-got-it-right-by-killing-soleimani-as-iran-vows-revenge.html