The administration of US President Donald Trump is in danger of losing control of the crisis unleashed by the assassination of Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, according to US media reports.

“Trump’s claim that the drone strike last week made Americans safer is being challenged by cascading events that appear to leave the US more vulnerable and isolated, CNN reported Monday.

“The Trump administration is already in danger of losing control of the swift chain reaction and political storm” created by the assassination of General Soleimani, the report said.

Several US lawmakers say there was no evidence of an “imminent attack” by Iran.

Congressional Democrats have expressed skepticism towards the evidence the Trump administration has cited to justify the assassination claimed to have been aimed at averting “imminent attack.”

The administration’s basis for the attack also came under renewed suspicion after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNN that it was not “relevant” for him to reveal how imminent the attacks on US interests were that Trump said General Soleimani was planning.

America’s allies in Europe have also distanced themselves from Trump’s attack.

And in a new sign of widening gaps between Iraq and the US, Iraq’s Caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said on Sunday General Soleimani was set to deliver Tehran’s reply to an earlier Saudi message regarding de-escalation talks mediated by Baghdad when he was assassinated.

“The deepening fallout over Iran renewed a focus on Trump’s leadership style and the question of how carefully he had considered the consequences of the attack,” CNN said.

The report said the Trump administration is resisting demands by Democratic lawmakers to share the intelligence that prompted the killing of Soleimani.

“It is critical that national security matters of such import be shared with the American people in a timely manner,” says the letter, issued by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“An entirely classified notification is simply not appropriate in a democratic society, and there appears to be no legitimate justification for classifying this notification,” they added.

CNN also said there was alarm within the administration over Trump’s earlier threat to attack “cultural” sites in Iran if Tehran retaliated against the US.

An attack on cultural sites like a religious shrine or historic monument would have civilian casualties, could violate several international treaties and would likely be considered a war crime.

“Nothing rallies people like the deliberate destruction of beloved cultural sites,” one US official told CNN.

“I don’t know what the President’s motivation here is but I think it was a reckless decision that increased the risk to Americans all around the world, not decreased it,” House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff told CNN.

Source: Presstv

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern Monday over rising global discord and called for “maximum restraint” amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran after the United States killed an Iranian military commander.

“The New Year has begun with our world in turmoil,” Guterres said in brief remarks at the UN headquarters in New York.

“We are living in dangerous times. Geopolitical tensions are at their highest level this century. And this turbulence is escalating.”

Guterres did not explicitly mention the rising tensions in the Middle East following the US killing of Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Middle East operations, in a drone strike.

But his remarks appeared aimed, at least in part, at the two sides.

“This cauldron of tensions is leading more and more countries to take unpredicted decisions with unpredictable consequences and a profound risk of miscalculation,” Guterres said.

He added that he had been following the recent rise in global tensions with “great concern” and was in constant contact with leading officials around the world.

“And my message is simple and clear: Stop escalation. Exercise maximum restraint. Re-start dialogue. Renew international cooperation,” he said.

“Let us not forget the terrible human suffering caused by war. As always, ordinary people pay the highest price. It is our common duty to avoid it.”

Reacting to the US airstrike on Friday, a spokesman for Guterres said the secretary-general had “consistently advocated for de-escalation in the Gulf.”

“This is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint,” the spokesman said. “The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf.”

The United States on Friday killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, in a drone strike on Baghdad’s international airport.

Iran vowed “severe revenge” for Soleimani’s death while US President Donald Trump said there would be “major” US retaliation if Tehran hits back.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Guterres on Monday, the State Department said, to discuss the Middle East and Venezuela, where opposition leader Juan Guaido was re-elected national assembly speaker on Sunday in a hotly disputed vote.

Pompeo voiced his appreciation for Guterres’s “continued diplomatic efforts,” spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.

Source: AFP

Iran announced a further rollback of its commitments to the troubled international nuclear accord Sunday amid anger over the US killing of a top commander. European leaders have urged Tehran to reconsider.

While vast crowds gathered in Iran’s second city of Mashhad as Qasem Soleimani’s remains were returned home, the Tehran government said it would forego the “limit on the number of centrifuges” it had pledged to honour in the 2015 agreement which was already in deep trouble.

The announcement was yet another sign of the fallout from Friday’s killing of Soleimani in Baghdad in a drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump, which has inflamed US-Iraqi relations and stoked fears of an armed conflict between Washington and Tehran.

Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with the United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – plus Germany had been hanging by a thread since the US withdrew unilaterally from it two years ago.

European countries have been pushing for talks with Iran to salvage the deal, inviting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif to Brussels for talks, but the prospect of progress seemed remote after the government’s statement on Sunday night.

“Iran’s nuclear programme no longer faces any limitation in the operational field”, said the statement.

This extends to Iran’s capacity for enriching uranium, the level of enrichment carried out, the amount enriched, and other research and development, it said.

“As of now Iran’s nuclear programme will continue solely based on its technical needs,” it added.

However, Tehran said it would continue cooperating “as before” with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

Iran also said it would once again comply with the terms of the 2015 agreement if the US does so too by lifting the sanctions that are crippling the Iranian economy.

European leaders urge Iran to rethink

In a joint statement late on Sunday, the leaders of Germany, France and Britain reacted by urging Iran to rethink its announcement.

“We call on Iran to withdraw all measures that are not in line with the nuclear agreement,” Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a joint statement.

The European leaders also urged Iran to refrain from taking “further violent actions or support for them”.

“It is crucial now to de-escalate. We call on all the players involved to show utmost restraint and responsibility,” the statement added.

>> Understanding the restrictions imposed by the Iran nuclear deal

The Europeans have been among the chorus of voices urging restraint in the aftermath of the drone strike which killed Soleimani, the veteran commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations.

But as his remains were paraded through the streets of Mashhad, cries of “Revenge, Revenge” echoed through the streets while mourners threw scarves onto the roof of the truck carrying his coffin.

In Iraq, meanwhile, lawmakers voted in favor of a resolution calling for an end to the foreign military presence in the country, including the estimated 5,200 US troops stationed to help fight Islamic State group extremists.

The bill is subject to approval by the Iraqi government but has the backing of the outgoing prime minister.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)