For all those who think that the Trump vs. Iran conflict has or will end with the latter’s raining missiles on Iraqi bases housing US troops in Baghdad, following the killing by US of Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani, this is just the beginning.
President Donald Trump has stirred a hornet’s nest that has brought the two nations on the cusp of war.
In the latest turn of events, President Trump has promised more sanctions against Iran, which could escalate the tension between the two countries beyond a redeemable point .
“Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world,” Trump said during his White House statement in the wake of Iran’s retaliatory attacks against Iraqi bases housing US troops.
“An early warning system worked well and no American or Iraqi lives were lost,” he added.
“The United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime,” Trump said, noting his administration is continuing to review other options to respond to the Iranian missile strike on Tuesday.
In a televised speech to Iran Wednesday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed the missile attacks and said Iran had given the US “a slap in the face last night.”
He added that America had cast Soleimani as a “terrorist,” which was “unjust and unfair.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite wing of the Iranian military with immense political and economic power, said in a statement that the attacks on Iraqi bases were “hard revenge” for Soleimani’s death.
Meanwhile, the House Democrats on Thursday, will take up legislation to restrain President Donald Trump’s military actions amid hostilities with Iran, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced.
“Today, to honour our duty to keep the American people safe, the House will move forward with a War Powers Resolution to limit the President’s military actions regarding Iran,” Pelosi said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon. She argued Trump “has made clear that he does not have a coherent strategy to keep the American people safe, achieve deescalation with Iran and ensure stability in the region.”
“Members of the Congress have serious, urgent concerns about the administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy,” Pelosi wrote.
