Iran Press/America: Although Kelly in the letter justifies assassination of Lieutenant General Soleimani, US Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans said administration officials had not provided evidence in classified briefings to back up Trump's assertion that IRGC Quds Force Commander had posed an "imminent" threat to the United States.
Trump said on Wednesday that the United States did not necessarily have to hit back after Iran's attack on military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq, itself an act of retaliation for the Jan. 3 U.S. strike that assassinated Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.
He stressed that his administration will impose new sanctions on Iran in response to the attack. He did not specify how those sanctions would be applied.
The Pentagon said Iran had launched 16 short-range ballistic missiles, at least 11 of which hit Iraq's al-Asad airbase and one that hit a facility in Erbil but caused no major damage.
Satellite photos were taken Wednesday show that an Iranian missile strike has caused extensive damage at the US airbase Ain al-Assad in Iraq.
The photos show hangars and buildings hit hard by a barrage of Iranian missiles that were fired early Wednesday morning local time.
"We do not seek escalation of war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter after Iran's attack.
The attack came in response to a US terrorist drone strike days earlier that martyred one of Iran's top Generals, the former Commander of IRGC's elite Quds Force, Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani.205
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Jan 09, 2020 01:27
