UPDATE: Iran pulls completely out of the ‘Iran Nuclear Deal.’
Iran said Sunday that it was ending its commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers in the wake of the U.S. strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Thousands took to the streets of Baghdad for the funeral procession of Iran’s top general Saturday after he was killed in a U.S. airstrike, as the region braced for the Islamic Republic to fulfill its vows of revenge.
The day of mourning in the Iraqi capital ended Saturday evening with a series of rockets that were launched and fell inside or near the Green Zone, which houses government offices and foreign embassies, including the U.S. Embassy.
Iran has vowed harsh retaliation for the U.S. airstrike ordered early Friday by President Donald Trump that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force and mastermind of its regional security strategy, and several senior Iraqi militants. The attack has caused regional tensions to soar, raising fears of an all-out war, and tested the U.S. alliance with Iraq.
Associated Press:
Trump has vowed to attack 52 cultural/historical sites in Iran. Even threats of doing so could potentially create even more Gen. Soleimanis. Of course, he issued his threats and latest failed foreign policy via Twitter:
Targeting cultural sites could be considered a war crime under international agreements to which the U.S. belongs, according to both Trump’s political foes and former national security officials.
The number 52 used by Trump in his tweets also matched the number of Americans seized in the November 1979 takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. They were held hostage for 444 days.
ABC:
Destroying cultural sites could be considered a war crime under the 1954 Hague Convention for the preservation of cultural sites and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2347, which was passed unanimously in March 2017 in response to the Islamic State’s destruction of historic sites in Iraq and Syria.
ABC:
Iran responds and warns of retaliating if Trump makes good on his threats:
In an exclusive interview with CNN in Tehran, the adviser — Maj. Gen. Hossein Dehghan — made the most specific and direct threat yet by a senior Iranian official following the killing of Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad.
CNN:
Maj. Gen. Hossein Dehghan issued the following statements:
- “It was America that has started the war. Therefore, they should accept appropriate reactions to their actions.”
- “Look, for several reasons we didn’t want to negotiate with this incumbent US administration. Now, after what happened to Mr. Soleimani there is no point for negotiations or relations. It’s impossible.”
- “If he says 52 we say 300 — and they are accessible to us,” Dehghan said. “No American military staff, no American political center, no American military base, no American vessel will be safe.”
- He doesn’t know international law. He doesn’t recognize UN resolutions either. Basically he is a veritable gangster and a gambler.”
Iran condemns Trump as ‘terrorist in a suit’ after attack threat:
And…Iraq wants the United States out of their country:
IRAQI LAWMAKERS WANT U.S. FORCES OUT In Iraq, many people including opponents of Soleimani have expressed anger at Washington for killing him and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis on Iraqi soil and potentially dragging their country into another war.
Lawmakers planned a special parliamentary session on Sunday to push for a vote on a resolution requiring the government to ask Washington to withdraw U.S. troops from the country.
“There is no need for the presence of American forces after defeating Daesh (Islamic State). We have our own armed forces which are capable of protecting the country,” said Ammar al-Shibli, a member of parliament’s legal committee.
Trump did follow the law and formally notified Congress of the “circumstances necessitating the introduction of United States Armed Forces” within 48 hours required by the 1973 War Powers Act:
Speaker Pelosi said in a statement that the notification “raises more questions than it answers.”
“This document prompts serious and urgent questions about the timing, manner and justification of the Administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran,” Pelosi said. “The highly unusual decision to classify this document in its entirety compounds our many concerns, and suggests that the Congress and the American people are being left in the dark about our national security.”
The Washington Post:
