“If Iran were to attack any of our citizens, including one of the 52 people named yesterday, it would face serious consequences,” Jake Sullivan said on Sunday. The US national security adviser was reacting to announcements from Tehran on Saturday that added more than fifty US citizens to a list of people accused of somehow participating in the decision-making or the organization of the elimination of General Soleimani.
These new sanctions come on the second anniversary of the assassination of the powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, killed in early 2020 in an American raid in Baghdad, on the orders of then-President Donald Trump.
The American chief of staff and the former ambassador to the UN in the list
“The United States of America will protect and defend its citizens. This includes those currently serving the United States, and those who have served in the past, ”added Jake Sullivan in his press release.
Tehran on Saturday added more than fifty US citizens to a list of people accused of somehow participating in the decision-making or organization of the elimination of General Soleimani.
Among the fifty names added by Iran on Saturday are the US Chief of Staff Mark Milley, and former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. “Looks like I’m going to have to cancel my relaxing vacation in Iran …” Nikki Haley tweeted ironically on Sunday.
Looks like I’ll have to cancel my relaxing getaway to Iran… https://t.co/25sPPm2kSm
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 9, 2022
Biden administration responsible for Trump’s decision on Iran
On Monday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi threatened former American leaders, including Donald Trump, with revenge during a rally in Tehran marking the anniversary of the general’s assassination.
Iran had also declared a few days earlier that the current US administration of Joe Biden was “responsible” for Donald Trump’s decision to eliminate Soleimani.
On January 3, 2020, an armed drone sprayed the vehicle aboard which was Qassem Soleimani, architect of Iranian strategy in the Middle East.
The night attack, on a road to Baghdad International Airport, raised fears of an open war between Tehran and Washington, two historical enemies.
