'Trump ordered killing of Soleimani to protect US personnel abroad'

The Pentagon said Trump's "decisive defensive action" to kill the head of Iran's elite al-Quds force Qasem Soleimani, was to protect US personnel abroad and deter future attacks being planned by Iran, the Pentagon said Friday.

General Soleimani, architect of Iran's regional security apparatus, was killed following a US airstrike at Baghdad's international airport on Friday. The strike also killed the deputy chief of Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force. The Pentagon confirmed the death of Soleimani in Iraq, saying the strike was carried out at the direction of Trump. Following Soleimani's death, Trump did not say anything immediately, except for tweeting an image of the US flag.

The strike comes days after Trump threatened Tehran after Iraqi supporters of pro-Iranian regime factions laid siege to the US embassy in Baghdad, following deadly American airstrikes on a hardline Hashed faction. The Pentagon alleged that the strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. “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,” it alleged.

Trump's decision in this regard was supported by his former cabinet colleague, Indian American Nikki Haley, the former US Ambassador to the United Nations. His demise should be applauded by all who seek peace and justice. Proud of President Trump for doing the strong and right thing, she tweeted.

The defensive actions the US has taken against #Iran & its proxies are consistent with clear warnings they have received, Senator Marco Rubio said in a tweet. They chose to ignore these warnings because they believed @POTUS was constrained from acting by our domestic political divisions. They badly miscalculated, he said. 

The best way to keep US forces safe is to remove them from the region, he said. Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Congratulated Trump on his decisive action and the successful outcome.

“Qasem Suleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and his death presents an opportunity for Iraq to determine its future free from Iranian control,” Risch said. As I have previously warned the Iranian government, they should not mistake our reasonable restraint in response to their previous attacks as a weakness. The US will always vigorously defend our interests and allies in the face of terrorist conduct and provocations, Risch said.

The Congress wasn't informed of the plan to kill Soleimani

The US Congress said that lawmakers weren't informed about President Donald Trump's attack that killed a top Iranian military commander, a senior House Democrat said late Thursday.

The strike conducted in Iraq against Iran's Qasem Soleimani "went forward with no notification or consultation with Congress," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said in a statement.

He added that while Soleimani was "the mastermind of immense violence" who has "the blood of Americans on his hands, to push ahead with an action of this gravity without involving Congress raises serious legal problems and is an affront to Congress's powers as a coequal branch of government.”

Ties between the US and Iran have deteriorated since Washington pulled out of the landmark nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018.

It then reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran, aiming to choke off its oil exports.

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, in the meantime, has condemned Soleimani's killing. "The US' act of international terrorism, targeting and assassinating General Soleimani... is extremely dangerous and a foolish escalation," Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter.