Reactions to the assassination of Qasem Soleimani

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.

[6] 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.

"[7] But in the leaked audiotape, he declared that "by assassinating [Soleimani] in Iraq, the United States delivered a major blow to Iran, more damaging than if it had wiped out an entire city in an attack".

[9] 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.

[17][18] 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.

These men died poor when they could have earned so much.”[32] President Trump tweeted pictures of the American flag shortly before the United States confirmed its responsibility for the attacks, at 3:00 a.m. GMT on 3 January 2020 (6:00 am in Baghdad).

[44] 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.

[49] 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.

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.

[61] 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.

[63] 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.

[67][68] 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.

[69] 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.

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.

"[79] 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".

[80][81] 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 6 January 2020, House Speaker Pelosi announced plans to hold a vote within the week on limiting President Trump's war powers concerning Iran.

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.

[89][90][88] 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.

To suggest that 18 years later this authorization could justify killing an Iranian official stretches the law far beyond anything Congress ever intended," adding that he "looked forward" to Pompeo testifying in a February 28 hearing.

[99][100] Jan Goldman of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, a leading expert on the role of ethics in intelligence operations, argued that the attack met the criteria for "assassination", adding that "killing anyone on foreign soil that is not a battlefield could be considered unethical".

[208] A number of anti-war rallies were held in more than 30 U.S. cities were set by Code Pink and the ANSWER Coalition for Saturday night, 4 January, asking the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

[210] Similar demonstrations took place in London,[211] Berlin,[211] Prague,[211] Moscow,[211] Vancouver,[211][212] Toronto,[211][213] Ottawa,[211] Montreal,[211] Istanbul,[211] Sana'a,[211] Islamabad,[211] Karachi,[211] Lahore,[211] Tokyo,[211] Seoul,[211] Kargil,[137] Budgam,[137] New Delhi,[136] Lucknow[138] and Pune.

[139] In Los Angeles, where a large number of Iranian Americans reside, praised the death of Soleimani[214][215] while celebrations took place in Baghdad,[216] Toronto[217] and Idlib.

[218] On 3 January 2021, thousands of Iraqis demanded American forces to withdraw from the country during protests in Liberation Square, Baghdad, a year after the assassination of Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.