Reactions To The 2020 Baghdad International Airport Airstrike

The killing of Iranian Major General and Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in Iraq by the United States brought strong reactions from around the world.

United Nations

A BBC article on 9 July 2020, has a link to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (5 June – 3 July 2020) which states:

"Accordingly, in light of the evidence that the US has provided to date, the targeting of General Soleimani, and the deaths of those accompanying him, constitute an arbitrary killing for which, under IHRL, the US is responsible. The strike was in violation of Art. 2(4) of the UN Charter with insufficient evidence provided of an ongoing or imminent attack. No evidence has been provided that General Soleimani specifically was planning an imminent attack against US interests, particularly in Iraq, for which immediate action was necessary and would have been justified. No evidence has been provided that a drone strike in a third country was necessary or that the harm caused to that country was proportionate to the harm allegedly averted. While there is information suggesting that the US requested, at least in December 2019, that Iraq take action against Kata'ib Hezbollah, no evidence has been provided that Iraq was consulted on how to alleviate any threats posed to the US arising from the visit of General Soleimani, such that Iraq should bear the burden of addressing those threats. No evidence has been produced that there was no time for the US to seek aid from the international community, including the UNSC, in addressing the alleged imminent threats. Major General Soleimani was in charge of Iran military strategy, and actions, in Syria and Iraq. But absent an actual imminent threat to life, the course of action taken by the US was unlawful."

Iran

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared three days of mourning, and vowed to take "harsh revenge" against the U.S.

President Hassan Rouhani also said that Iran "will take revenge".

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif posted on Twitter that the attack was "an extremely dangerous and foolish escalation" and released a statement saying that "the brutality and stupidity of American terrorist forces in assassinating Commander Soleimani... will undoubtedly make the tree of resistance in the region and the world more prosperous." But in the leaked audiotape, he declared that "by assassinating oleimaniin Iraq, the United States delivered a major blow to Iran, more damaging than if it had wiped out an entire city in an attack".

Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations, wrote in an official letter to the United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General António Guterres: "by any measure, is an obvious example of State terrorism and, as a criminal act, constitutes a gross violation of the fundamental principles of international law, including, in particular, those stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations".

Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi compared Trump to ISIL, Hitler, and Genghis Khan, also calling him a "terrorist in a suit."

Former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaee posted that " oleimanijoined his martyred brothers, but we will take vigorous revenge on America." Soleimani's daughter Zeinab Soleimani said during her father's funeral that "the families of the American soldiers in western Asia will spend their days waiting for the death of their children."

On 4 January, a red flag unfurled above the dome of Jamkaran Mosque in response to the airstrike, that according to ''Washington Examiner'', symbolizes vengeance. While being broadcast on Iran's Channel One, the eulogist at Soleimani's funeral procession addressed a crowd during processions at Mashhad and called for a bounty of US$80 million (roughly US$1 for every Iranian citizen) to be placed on Donald Trump.

On 7 January, Iran's parliament approved a €200 million increase in the Quds Force's budget, to be used in two months. Iran's parliament also voted to declare the United States Armed Forces to be a terrorist organization.

On 8 January, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani praised Qasem Soleimani's merits on fighting ISIS, al-Nusra and al-Qaeda and announced, Iran's "final answer to his assassination will be to kick all US forces out of the region".

Reactions from Iranian opposition groups

* The People's Mojahedin of Iran, an exiled Iranian militant group, welcomed the killing of Soleimani. Its leader Maryam Rajavi, the wife of the disappeared Massoud Rajavi, stated that the killing is an "irreparable blow for the regime of the mullahs" while she accused Soleimani of being "one of the biggest criminals in Iran's history" and "personally implicated in the massacre of thousands of people in the region".
* The exiled Tudeh Party of Iran condemned the airstrike, while simultaneously criticizing the Iranian regime for intervening in both Iraq and Lebanon.
* Reza Pahlavi II, heir to the throne of the Shah of the defunct Imperial State of Iran, strongly backed the airstrike and killing of Soleimani saying that it is "a breakthrough that is positive for the region."

Iraq

Outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi condemned the attack, calling it an assassination and stating that the strike was an act of aggression and a breach of Iraqi sovereignty which would lead to war in Iraq and declared three days of national mourning. He said the strike violated the agreement on the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq and that safeguards for Iraq's security and sovereignty should be met with legislation. The media office of the Iraqi military's joint operations forces posted a photo of a destroyed vehicle on fire after the attack. The speaker of Iraq's parliament Mohammed al Halbousi vowed to "put an end to U.S. presence" in Iraq. On January 5 in reaction to the airstrikes the Iraqi parliament passed a bill calling for the expulsion of US troops from the country.

Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Sadrist Movement and the Saraya al-Salam militia, ordered his followers to "prepare to defend Iraq". He later called for ceasefire.

After the Iranian missile attack on U.S. forces in Iraq, Iran-backed Iraqi militia commander Qais Khazali said that Iran had made its initial response for the United States killing its top general, and it was now time for Iraq to give its initial response to the assassination of Popular Mobilization Forces's deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

On 24 January, several hundred thousand Iraqis protested against U.S. military presence in Iraq and called for them to leave the country after Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for a "Million Man March." Iraqi President Barham Salih tweeted, "Iraqis insist on a state with complete sovereignty that will not be breached."

In January 2021, a judge in Baghdad's court issued an arrest warrant for President Donald Trump.

United States

President Trump tweeted pictures of the American flag shortly before the United States confirmed its responsibility for the attacks, at 3:00a.m. GMT on 3 January 2020 (6:00 am in Baghdad). In a subsequent public statement he said he had authorized the strike because Soleimani was plotting "imminent and sinister attacks" on Americans. He added, "We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war." He also said that he did not seek a regime change in Iran. On 4 January, Trump tweeted that 52 Iranian targets (representing the 52 American hostages in the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis) had been selected if Iran "strikes any Americans, or American assets". In the same tweet, Trump also mentioned targeting Iranian "cultural sites", an act that would constitute a violation of international law under the Hague Convention, but not if used by Iran as cover for weapons that could target U.S. interests. Trump insisted he would not hesitate to destroy such targets even after some said it could be considered a war crime.

On the day of the strike, U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo asserted the attack was ordered by Trump to disrupt an "imminent attack" by Soleimani operatives, although subsequent reports on that rationale were mixed. After the strike, Pompeo tweeted a video he said showed Iraqis celebrating Soleimani's death on the streets of Baghdad, although the video showed no more than 40 individuals among a crowd of thousands and the minor demonstration ended within two minutes. In a tweet, former National Security Advisor John Bolton called the airstrike "a long in the making, decisive blow against Iran's malign Quds Force activities worldwide... Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran." Vice President Mike Pence claimed without evidence that Soleimani was involved in the 9/11 attacks.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft wrote a letter to the UN Security Council in which she said that the act was one of self-defense. At the same time, she wrote in the letter that the US stood "ready to engage without preconditions in serious negotiations with Iran, with the goal of preventing further endangerment of international peace and security or escalation by the Iranian regime."

When asked about the possible responses that Iran could take to this action, former Deputy Secretary of Defense Michael Mulroy said that the IRGC Quds Force has a worldwide reach and that targets would include American civilians, and that Iraq might decide to expel U.S. forces in their country. Former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta warned that the U.S. is closer to war with Iran than at any time in the last 40 years.

Characterizing the attack as "murder", "assassination", "act of war", or something else proved controversial. Some critics of Trump described the attack as a wag the dog incident to distract from impeachment proceedings, parallel to the bombing of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sudan by president Bill Clinton during his own impeachment process, which had itself been seen as reminiscent of the contemporaneous film'' Wag the Dog''. In 2011 and 2012, Trump asserted that President Obama would start a war with Iran to improve his reelection chances.

According to a Facebook spokesperson, Instagram and its parent company Facebook were picking up posts "that voice support for slain Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani to comply with US sanctions".

Domestic U.S. political reactions

American politicians reacted along party lines. Republicans generally supported the mission, while Democrats blamed Soleimani "for the deaths of hundreds of American servicemen during the Iraq war" but questioned the wisdom, timing, and motivation for the attack.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell celebrated the attack, referring to Soleimani as "Iran's master terrorist". House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to the strike as "provocative and disproportionate", and introduced a "war powers resolution" requiring Trump's administration to end hostilities with Iran not approved by Congress within 30 days.

All the Democratic candidates for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, political challengers to Trump, largely condemned the airstrike. Former Vice President Joe Biden warned of further escalation and said that Trump "just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox". Senator Bernie Sanders said that "Trump's dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars." Senator Elizabeth Warren described the attack as wag the dog, an attempt by Trump to distract from the impeachment process through an act of war. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg said the Trump administration must plan for possible consequences before taking action, must ensure its action is supported by its allies, and must take only actions that will benefit U.S. national interests and stability in the region. Representative Tulsi Gabbard called the airstrike an act of war by President Trump and a violation of the U.S. Constitution, arguing that the president does not have Congressional authorization for such an act. At the seventh Democratic Party presidential debate hosted by CNN and the ''Des Moines Register'' at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, the candidates Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, and Pete Buttigieg favored a complete U.S. disengagement from the region, while Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar defended retaining special forces in Iraq. Meanwhile, President Trump used the killing of Soleimani to promote his reelection campaign, in which he defended the action at rallies in Toledo and Milwaukee.

Sanders, along with Representative Ro Khanna, announced that they would be introducing legislation to prevent the use of Pentagon funding for military action in Iran without Congressional approval. Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, said, "Congress must act to stop President Trump from entangling America in yet another unnecessary war in the Middle East." In June 2019, Kaine had introduced a resolution to require Congressional authorization before going to war with Iran, and on 3 January 2020 he introduced a similar resolution. Kaine's counterpart, Mark Warner (D-VA) said it is not clear that the Trump administration has a clear plan to prevent another endless war in the Middle East.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) criticized the airstrikes, saying that it will increase tensions between the two countries. Fox News's Tucker Carlson criticized the killing and "chest-beaters" who promote foreign interventions, particularly Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE). He asked, "By the way, if we're still in Afghanistan, 19 years, sad years, later, what makes us think there's a quick way out of Iran?"

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed strong concerns about potential retaliatory strikes, putting the police department on high alert, including the potential of bag checks at subway stations and vehicle checks at tunnels and bridges. Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C. said she did not see any immediate threats, but she reminded citizens to report any suspicious activities.

President of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haass, called the airstrike potentially "the most significant development" in the region since the Iraq War, and called for the U.S. to prepare for an Iranian retaliation. Oona A. Hathaway, a professor of international law at Yale Law School, evaluated the various legal justifications the Trump Administration gave for the airstrike, compared the attack with similar events of the past and concluded that, "the Soleimani strike defied the U.S. Constitution. If Congress fails to respond effectively, the constitutional order will be broken beyond repair, and the president will be left with the unmitigated power to take the country to war on his own—anywhere, anytime, for any reason."

Medea Benjamin (the founder of anti-war advocacy group Code Pink) and Hillary Mann Leverett (a political risk consultant and former director of Iran affairs at the White House's National Security Council) called the assassination of Soleimani "flatly illegal".

Congressional resolution to limit Trump's war powers

Some members of the United States Congress, which generally was not consulted or briefed before the Soleimani strike, sought to restrict the president's ability to conduct future military operations against Iran without congressional consent. On 6January 2020, House Speaker Pelosi announced plans to hold a vote within the week on limiting President Trump's war powers concerning Iran. On 8January 2020, Pelosi announced that a vote will be held by the entire U.S. House of Representatives on 9January to limit President Trump's war powers concerning any future escalation of conflict with Iran. The House Rules Committee cleared the way for a full House vote by approving parameters which set up a two-hour debate on 9January. The House vote is considered significant, as the U.S. Constitution provides that while the president may use the military to defend the country, any declaration of war must be approved by Congress. Trump criticized the effort, arguing that congressional approval should not be needed to militarily engage Iran "because you have to be able to make split-second decisions sometimes."

On 9 January 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives considered the measure and eventually voted 224–194 to approve it. White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley criticized the resolution's passage, calling it "just another political move" and an attempt to "hinder the President's authority to protect America and our interests in the region..." It was unclear if the resolution was binding or non-binding and whether the Senate would ultimately approve it; House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called it a "meaningless vote" while Democrats insisted it sent a strong message that Trump must work with Congress on national security.

The constitutionality of the resolution is unclear since the U.S. Supreme Court limited legislative veto with the '' Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha'' decision in 1983 in a majority opinion written by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger. Defense Secretary Esper argued that the President has full authority to attack Iran in response to attacks by Iraqi proxy militias under the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq

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