US President Donald Trump

Trump administration has warned US Congress that Iran is expected to retaliate against the US "within weeks" for the assassination of the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani.

Iran Press/America: There are also intense discussions taking place inside US military and intelligence agencies to assess whether Iran might be preparing some type of retaliatory strikes in the next few days or wait for some time, according to a US official with direct knowledge of the situation. "There are conflicting views" on whether Iran will quickly retaliate or wait, but US military defenses are ready, the official said.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of the US, General Mark Milley, publicly addressed the issue of potential retaliation from Iran Friday. When asked whether there is now a risk to US safety in the region, Milley bluntly said, "Damn right there is risk," CNN reported.

Officials from the National Security Council, State Department, Pentagon, and intelligence agencies echoed that concern during classified briefings Friday, making it clear that it is not a question of if Iran will respond, but when, where and how, a source with knowledge of what was discussed told CNN.

National security officials were blunt as they described a range of retaliatory possibilities inside the US and abroad. The goal, one administration official familiar with the briefing said, was to make sure lawmakers were "cleared-eyed" about the possibilities for Iranian retaliation and that nothing was sugar-coated.

The official told CNN that the administration wanted to make it clear it couldn't rule out retaliation within the next few weeks -- or even months -- given how Iran historically has responded to acts of aggression against the country.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that the United States committed a "grave mistake" in assassinating Lieutenant General Soleimani and that Americans "will face the consequences of this criminal act not only today but also in the coming years."

Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani, military commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, along with a number of other military figures were martyred by direct order of US President Donald Trump in the early hours of Friday morning 3 January 2020. 

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