Why Did US Target Iran Gen. Soleimani? Trump Justifies Targeted Drone Strike

Update: 1:55 p.m. EST

President Trump ordered 3,500 additional troops to be dispatchred to the Middle East as Iran vowed revenge for the killing of Quds Force commander Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

The troops are from the 82nd Airborne Division and will join a battalion of 750 soldiers who arrived in Kuwait Thursday, a defense official told the Washington Post.

Original story

President Trump on Friday justified the U.S. drone strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, tweeting the general was “both hated and feared” in Iran, and blaming him for the deaths of a “large number of protesters” within the country.

Soleimani was the top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Quds Force. U.S. officials said he was the architect of Iran’s Middle East strategy and was responsible for this week’s siege of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. They also said he was planning attacks on U.S. diplomats and civilians.

Iran, which is struggling under U.S. economic sanctions, vowed revenge, calling the targeted drone strike criminal.

U.S. lawmakers were split, with Republicans strongly supporting the action and Democrats questioning the legality and expressing concerns about the consequences. Investors were worried.

News of the killing sent U.S. stocks lower at the open.

“This is more than just bloodying Iran’s nose. This is an aggressive show of force and an outright provocation that could trigger another Middle East war. Indeed we are waking up to a less safe world than it was only hours ago,” said Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist for AxiTrader.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday suspended all consular operations until further notice and U.S. citizens were advised not to approach the U.S. compound. Visa applications and other business was shifted to the consulate in Erbil.

The Pentagon said decisive action was taken against Soleimani to protect U.S. personnel abroad. Also killed in the attack was Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of the Iran-back militias in Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Units.

“General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

It added: “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world.”

Trump repeated the Pentagon statement, adding: “He was directly and indirectly responsible for the death[s] of millions of people, including the recent large number of protesters killed in Iran itself. While Iran will never be able to properly admit it, Soleimani was both hated and feared within the country. They are not nearly as saddened as the leaders will let the outside world believe. He should have been taken out many years ago!”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei vowed retaliation for the death of Soleimani and said the killing was committed by the “cruelest people on Earth,” and described the general as an “honorable” soldier, hailing him as a “martyr.”

"All the friends and foes must know that the path of Jihad of the Resistance will continue with double motivation, and a definite victory awaits those who fight in this auspicious path," Khameini said.

“The demise of our selfless and dear general is bitter, but the continued fight and achievement of the final victory will make life bitterer for the murderers and criminals.”

He appointed Quds deputy commander Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani to succeed Soleimani and ordered three days of mourning.

President Hassan Rouhani said the killing “of the great commander” will “double the determination of the great nation of Iran … [to] resist the excessive demands of the U.S. and to defend the Islamic values.

“There is no doubt that this cowardly and evil move is another sign of the U.S. desperation, inability and failure in the region, and the hatred felt by the regional nations toward this criminal regime. The great nation of Iran and other free nations of the region will take revenge for this heinous crime against the criminal U.S.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., praised Trump’s action.

CNN reported lawmakers would be briefed Friday.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the Gang of Eight regularly briefed on national security matters, said he had not been advised of the strike beforehand. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the strike “provocative and disproportionate.”

“Tonight’s airstrike risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence. America – and the world – cannot afford to have tensions escalate to the point of no return,” she said in a statement issued Thursday night.