WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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The dramatic escalation of tensions started last Friday with the killing of Iran’s top military leader, Qassem Soleimani. The killing was approved by President Trump and carried out by a drone missile strike in Iraq. Soleimani was the leader of Iran’s regional military intervention and a revered figure in Iran.
Soleimani’s burial on Wednesday came just hours after Iran retaliated by firing a series of ballistic missiles at two military bases housing American troops in Iraq. The U.S. says no one was hurt in the attacks. Trump signaled he would not retaliate for the attacks on the U.S. bases. Both sides seem to be standing down for now.
Indiana’s Republican lawmakers largely backed the President’s decision to go after Soleimani. Senator Mike Braun described in a tweet the president’s decision as courageous. Braun described Soleimani as a terrorist who was planning attacks against Americans in the region.
Congress still in its holiday recess last week was not consulted before the strike. The events of last week caused concern that the US may enter into another war in the Middle East. The Democratic-led House of Representatives voted yesterday to curtail Trump’s war-making power. A similar resolution is being prepared at the U.S. Senate.
The U.S. tensions with Iran have been steadily rising in the past two years when President Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. The deal was brokered by former President Barack Obama’s administration. Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia, the other signatories to the agreement, have continued to adhere to it.
Washington has been ramping up economic sanctions on Tehran since the U.S. exited the Iran Nuclear Deal in May 2018. President Trump invited Iran to negotiations on Wednesday and stated he was planning on further increasing sanctions. Today a list of new sanctions were announced. Previous sanctions have focused on Iran’s oil, banking and shipping sectors.
