Iraqis ‘dancing in the street’ after Soleimani death: Pompeo

President Donald Trump ordered the killing of the Iran Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 05 January 2020
Follow

Iraqis ‘dancing in the street’ after Soleimani death: Pompeo

  • Trump said Soleimani should have been killed “many years ago”
  • US said Iranian commander was planning imminent action that threatened American citizens when he was killed in the US strike

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo posted a video on Twitter Thursday he said showed Iraqis “dancing in the street” after the United States killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

“Iraqis — Iraqis — dancing in the street for freedom; thankful that General Soleimani is no more,” Pompeo wrote, alongside footage of scores of people running along a road and waving what appeared to be Iraqi flags and other banners.

President Donald Trump ordered the killing of the Iran Revolutionary Guards commander, who died Friday “in a decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad,” the Pentagon said.

President Donald Trump said Friday that Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani should have been killed long before.
In his first substantial comments on the operation, carried out earlier Friday at Baghdad's international airport, Trump tweeted that Soleimani "should have been taken out many years ago!"
Soleimani "has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more...but got caught!" Trump said.

White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said Friday that any Iranian retaliation in response to the US killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani would be a “very poor decision.”

O’Brien, briefing reporters on the US operation in a conference call, said Soleimani was struck while traveling around the Middle East planning attacks against American military personnel and diplomats in the region.

Iran told the United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday that it reserves its right to self-defense under international law after the USattack on  Soleimani.

Iranian U.N. Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi wrote in a letter that the killing of Soleimani "by any measure, is an obvious example of State terrorism and, as a criminal act, constitutes a gross violation of the fundamental principles of international law, including, in particular, those stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations."

READ MORE: Iran’s Gen. Soleimani killed in airstrike at Baghdad airport

READ MORE:  OPINION: Qassem Soleimani’s death is a severe blow to Iran’s leadership — Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

READ MORE: How Iran’s Qassem Soleimani destabilized the Middle East

The US Department of Defense said in a statement: “General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”

“General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more.”

Pompeo did not provide a source for the video or offer any details about where the images were filmed.

The strike at Baghdad’s international airport also killed the deputy chief of Iraq’s powerful Hashed Al-Shaabi paramilitary force.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani was planning imminent action that threatened American citizens when he was killed in the US strike.

"He was actively plotting in the region to take actions - a big action, as he described it - that would have put dozens if not hundreds of American lives at risk," Pompeo told CNN.

"We know it was imminent," Pompeo said of Soleimani's plot, without going into detail about the nature of the planned operation.

"These were threats that were located in the region," Pompeo added. "Last night was the time that we needed to strike to make sure that this imminent attack ... was disrupted."

"This was an intelligence-based assessment that drove our decision-making process," Pompeo added.

Pompeo said the United States remains committed to de-escalation with Iran but will defend itself. He added that the United States has fortified its assets in the region and is prepared for any possible retaliation, including a cyberattack.

Hours after news of the attack, the US embassy in Baghdad urged American citizens in Iraq on Friday to "depart immediately", for fear of fallout from a US strike that killed top Iranian and Iraqi commanders.

"US citizens should depart via airline while possible, and failing that, to other countries via land," the embassy said in a statement.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned by the recent rise in tensions in the Middle East, where the United States killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani following violent protests at its embassy in Baghdad.
"The Secretary-General has consistently advocated for de-escalation in the Gulf. He is deeply concerned with the recent escalation," said his spokesman, Farhan Haq, in a statement. "This is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint. The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf."

The US strike hit outside Baghdad airport early Friday but security sources told AFP it was still open to flights.

A pro-Iran mob this week laid siege to the US embassy following deadly American airstrikes on a hard-line Hashed faction.

The US had called the strikes in response to a rocket attack days earlier that killed an American contractor working in Iraq.

The Pentagon said Soleimani had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the past months, including on December 27, the day the contractor was killed.

“General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week,” it said.

Republican lawmakers quickly spoke out Thursday in strong support of Trump's attack that killed Soleimani.

“In a display of resolve and strength, we struck the leader of those attacking our sovereign US territories,” top House Republican Kevin McCarthy said in a statement.

The sentiment was swiftly echoed by his fellow Republicans.

“Wow - the price of killing and injuring Americans has just gone up drastically,” Senator Lindsey Graham, a close confidant of Trump, wrote on Twitter.

Former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley also praised the attack.

“Qassem Soleimani was an arch terrorist with American blood on his hands,” Haley said on Twitter. “his demise should be applauded by all who seek peace and justice. “proud of president trump for doing the strong and right thing.”

Trump's former advisor John Bolton always praised the killing of Soleimani and "congratulated" those involved.

The high praise from the right stood in stark contrast to reaction from Democrats, who severely criticized Trump's latest move in a sign of Washington's polarization ahead of this year's presidential elections.

“President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox,” said former vice president Joe Biden, who leads the pack of Democratic contenders, in a statement.

“Iran will surely respond. We could be on the brink of a major conflict across the Middle East,” Biden said.

US entrepreneur and Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wrote on Twitter that “war with Iran is the last thing we need and is not the will of the American people.

“We should be acting to deescalate tensions and protect our people in the region.”

Democratic Vermont senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said “Trump's dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars.”

It was already a topic trending in US-based think tank and diplomatic circles late Thursday.

“Make no mistake: any war with Iran will not look like the 1990 Gulf war or the 2003 Iraq war,” Richard Haass, president of the US-based Council on Foreign Relations, wrote on Twitter.

“The region (and possibly the world) will be the battlefield,” he wrote.

Bahrain said on Friday it is following the developments in Iraq and called for de-escalation after the US air strike, according to state news agency BNA. 

Egypt's Foreign Ministry said on Friday it was following developments in Iraq with "great concern" and appealed against any further escalation.

"The Foreign Ministry is following with great concern accelerating developments in Iraq, which augur an escalation it is important to avoid," the statement said.

"For this reason, Egypt calls for containing the situation and avoiding any escalation."

Yemen’s government on Friday said it considered the killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani an important step to end conflict in the region.

The comment was posted on Twitter by Muammar Al-Iryani, Information Minister of the internationally-recognised government, after the United States carried out an air strike in Iraq that killed Soleimani, architect of Iran’s military influence in the Middle East.

In response to the attack, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that a “harsh retaliation is waiting” for the US after the airstrike, calling Soleimani the “international face of resistance.” Khamenei declared three days of public mourning for the general’s death.

Iran also summoned the Swiss charges d'affaires, who represents US interests in Tehran, to protest the killing.

Iranian state television called Trump’s order to kill Soleimani “the biggest miscalculation by the US” since World War II. “The people of the region will no longer allow Americans to stay," it said.

Iranian-backed Houthi militia, who control Yemen's capital Sanaa, also called for "swift reprisals" for the killing of Soleimani.

"We condemn this killing and direct and swift reprisals are the answer," senior Houthi official Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi tweeted.

The US air strike in Baghdad which killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani will increase insecurity and instability in the region, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

In a written statement, the ministry said that it was deeply concerned by the rising tensions between the United States and Iran, and that turning Iraq into an area of conflict will harm peace and stability in the region.

Lebanon's foreign ministry on Friday called for the country and wider region to be spared any repercussions from the US air strike that killed the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force.
The ministry also condemned the killing, calling it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and a dangerous escalation against Iran.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on Friday sung the praise of slain Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, who played a key role in saving his regime in the nearly nine-year-old Syrian conflict.
The Syrian people "will not forget that he stuck by the side of the Syrian Arab army", Assad said in a letter of condolences sent to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Meanwhile, France’s embassy in Tehran on Friday urged its citizens in Iran to stay away from public gatherings after the killing of Soleimani.

“Three days of mourning have been declared after the death of General Soleimani. In this context, we recommend French citizens to stay away from any gatherings and to behave with prudence and discretion and abstain from taking pictures in public spaces,” it said in a statement on Twitter.

Royal Jordanian Airlines said on Friday it suspended flights to Baghdad's international airport until further notice due to the security situation.
The state carrier, which has eighteen scheduled flights every week to Baghdad, said its flights to other Iraqi cities were not affected and operating normally. 


Trump says two weeks is ‘maximum’ for Iran decision

Updated 53 min 45 sec ago
Follow

Trump says two weeks is ‘maximum’ for Iran decision

  • Trump also played down the possibility of asking Israel to halt its attacks
  • The US president dismissed the chance of success in talks between European powers and Iran

MORRISTOWN, United States: President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran had a “maximum” of two weeks to avoid possible US air strikes, indicating he could take a decision before the fortnight deadline he set a day earlier.

Trump added that Iran “doesn’t want to talk to Europe,” dismissing the chance of success in talks between European powers and Iran in Geneva on resolving the conflict between Israel and Iran.

Trump also played down the possibility of asking Israel to halt its attacks, after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would not resume talks with the United States until Israel relented.

“I’m giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” Trump told reporters when asked if he could decide to strike Iran before that.

He added that the aim was to “see whether or not people come to their senses.”

Trump had said in a statement on Thursday that he would “make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks” because there was a “substantial chance of negotiations” with Iran.

Those comments had been widely seen as opening a two-week window for negotiations to end the war between Israel and Iran, with the European powers rushing to talks with Tehran.

But his latest remarks indicated that Trump could still make his decision before that if he feels that there has been no progress toward dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump dismissed the chances of Europe making a difference, saying the talks between Britain, France, Germany and EU diplomats and Tehran’s foreign minister “didn’t help.”

“Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this,” Trump told reporters as he arrived in Morristown, New Jersey.

Asked if he would ask Israel to stop its attacks as Iran had asked, Trump said it was “very hard to make that request right now.”

“If somebody’s winning, it’s a little bit harder to do than if somebody’s losing, but we’re ready, willing and able, and we’ve been speaking to Iran, and we’ll see what happens.”


In Istanbul, top Arab League diplomats discuss Iran-Israel war

Updated 20 June 2025
Follow

In Istanbul, top Arab League diplomats discuss Iran-Israel war

  • The ministers were in Turkiye’s largest city on the eve of weekend gathering of the OIC
  • Some 40 top diplomats are slated to join the weekend gathering

ISTANBUL: Arab League foreign ministers gathered in Istanbul late Friday to discuss the escalating war between Iran and Israel, Turkish state news agency Anadolu said, quoting diplomatic sources.

The ministers were in Turkiye’s largest city on the eve of weekend gathering of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was also slated to discuss the air war launched a week ago.

Israel began its assault in the early hours of June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, triggering an immediate immediate retaliation from Tehran in the worst-ever confrontation between the two arch-rivals.

Some 40 top diplomats are slated to join the weekend gathering of the OIC which will also have a session dedicated to discussing the Iran-Israel crisis, the Turkish foreign ministry said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany in Geneva on Friday, will also attend and address the diplomats, the ministry said.

Earlier on Friday, Araghchi said Tehran was ready to “consider diplomacy” again only if Israel’s “aggression is stopped.”

The Arab League ministers were expected to release a statement following their meeting, Anadolu said.


US to move third aircraft carrier closer to Mideast conflict

Updated 20 June 2025
Follow

US to move third aircraft carrier closer to Mideast conflict

  • Navy official confirms USS Gerald R. Ford will depart for Europe next week
  • USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group already in Middle East, soon to be joined by USS Nimitz

WASHINGTON: The USS Gerald R. Ford will depart for Europe next week, a Navy official said Friday, placing a third American aircraft carrier in closer proximity to the Middle East as Israel and Iran trade strikes.
Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign against Iran last week, and US President Donald Trump has said he is weighing whether to join Israel in the fight.
“The Gerald Ford carrier strike group will depart Norfolk (Virginia) the morning of June 24 for a regularly scheduled deployment to the US European Command area of responsibility,” the Navy official said.
The USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group has been operating in the Middle East since earlier this year, taking part in an air campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
And a US defense official has confirmed that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth ordered the Nimitz carrier strike group to the Middle East, saying it was “to sustain our defensive posture and safeguard American personnel.”
Trump said Thursday he will decide whether to join Israel’s strikes on Iran within the next two weeks, citing a chance of negotiations to end the conflict.
That deadline comes after a tense few days in which the US president publicly mulled hitting Iran and said that Tehran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an “easy target.”
Trump had spent weeks pursuing a diplomatic path toward a deal to replace the nuclear deal with Iran that he tore up in his first term in 2018, but has since backed Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military top brass.
A key issue is that the United States is the only country with the huge “bunker buster” bombs that could destroy Iran’s crucial Fordo nuclear enrichment plant.
A number of key figures in his “Make America Great Again” movement have vocally opposed US strikes on Iran, and Trump’s promise to extract the United States from its “forever wars” in the Middle East played a role in his 2016 and 2024 election wins.


GCC chief hails UN adoption of landmark resolution on strategic cooperation

Updated 20 June 2025
Follow

GCC chief hails UN adoption of landmark resolution on strategic cooperation

  • Jasem Albudaiwi describes agreement between the organizations as a major step forward in deepening regional and international collaboration
  • Its adoption reflects the respected status of the GCC as a proactive regional partner in efforts to support global peace and security, he adds

RIYADH: The secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Albudaiwi, on Friday welcomed the adoption by the UN General Assembly of a landmark resolution on collaboration between the organizations.

He described the agreement, formally titled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council” and the first of its kind, as a major step forward in deepening regional and international collaboration, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The resolution, adopted on Monday, was submitted to the UN on behalf of GCC member states by Kuwait, which currently holds the presidency of the regional organization.

Albudaiwi said its adoption reflects the respected status of the GCC as a proactive regional partner in efforts to support global peace and security. It signifies a new phase of strategic partnership between the organizations, he added, underscored by concrete plans and activities to enhance cooperation.

He praised Kuwait for the diplomatic efforts of the nation’s mission to the UN in New York, and said the success of the resolution embodies the spirit of unity within the GCC and its commitment to working constructively with international partners across multilateral platforms.


19 injured in Israeli port after Iran missile barrage

Updated 20 June 2025
Follow

19 injured in Israeli port after Iran missile barrage

  • Projectile slammed into an area by the docks in Haifa on Friday afternoon

JERUSALEM: At least 19 people were injured in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa as Iran fired a fresh barrage of missiles on Friday afternoon, authorities said.
Iran has been launching daily missile salvos at Israel for the past week since a wide-ranging Israeli attack on its nuclear and military facilities triggered war.
One projectile slammed into an area by the docks in Haifa on Friday afternoon where it damaged a building and blew out windows, littering the ground with rubble, AFP images showed.
Israel’s foreign ministry said it struck “next to” the Al-Jarina mosque.
The locations of missile strikes in Israel are subject to strict military censorship rules and are not always provided in detail to the public.
A spokesman for Haifa’s Rambam hospital said 19 people had been injured in the city, with one in a serious condition.
A military official said that “approximately 20 missiles were launched toward Israel” in the latest Iranian salvo.
More than 450 missiles have been fired at the country so far, along with about 400 drones, according to Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate.
The directorate added that the country’s tax authority had received over 25,000 claims linked to damage caused to buildings during the war.
Israel launched a massive wave of strikes on June 13, triggering an immediate retaliation from Tehran.
Residential areas in both countries have suffered, while Israel and Iran have traded accusations of targeting civilians.
At least 25 people have been killed in Israel by Iranian missile strikes, according to authorities.
Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not updated the toll since.