POTUS responds to Iranian threats of revenge and states his plans if Iran decides to act
Edited by: TJVNews.com
President Trump responded on Saturday to the threats coming from Iran regarding revenge for the killing of Qassem Soleimani.
Showing no signs of seeking to ease tensions raised by the strike he ordered that killed Soleimani and Iranian-backed Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad airport, Trump issued a stern threat to Iran on Twitter.
“Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets,” Trump tweeted, “as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently hundreds of Iranian protesters.”
President Trump continued and wrote: “He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years.”
Trump concluded his message with a threat and warning: “Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!”
The U.S. strike has raised the specter of wider conflict in the Middle East. Trump did not identify the sites. The Pentagon referred questions about the matter to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reported that Trump said on Friday that Soleimani had been plotting “imminent and sinister” attacks on American diplomats and military personnel. Democratic critics said the Republican president’s action was reckless and risked more bloodshed in a dangerous region.
With security worries rising after Friday’s strike, the NATO alliance and a separate U.S.-led mission suspended their programs to train Iraqi security and armed forces, officials said.
A rocket fell inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone near the U.S. Embassy on Saturday night and another hit the nearby Jadriya neighborhood, according to a Reuters report. Two more rockets were fired at the Balad air base north of the city, but no one was killed, the Iraqi military said in a statement. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Reuters also reported that Gholamali Abuhamzeh, a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said Tehran would punish Americans “wherever they are in reach,” and raised the prospect of possible attacks on ships in the Gulf.
