US allies, Democrats express concerns after assassination of Iran’s Soleimani
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called for de-escalation after the killing of Iran's Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani, but international allies and Democratic senators are openly skeptical about Pompeo’s claim that his assassination was wise.
WASHINGTON — Hours after the United States military said it had killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani at the Baghdad airport in order to deter future Iranian attacks on US troops, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rushed to television morning news shows today and placed calls to international counterparts calling for de-escalation and claiming the killing of Soleimani will make the world more safe. But several international allies and even more hawkish Democratic senators expressed open skepticism about Pompeo’s claim that the assassination was justified to avert an imminent threat, and concern that the US killing of the top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force leader could unleash an escalation that could get more Americans and allied forces killed.
“There is no imminent threat aside from that which the president has provoked,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), one of only two Democratic senators who voted in 2015 against President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, said today.
