BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua)-After Soleimani, a senior Iranian commander, was killed in a U.S. air strike, Teheran said it would abandon the Iranian nuclear deal’s "final restriction" and no longer limit the number of centrifuges. In addition, the Iraqi parliament passed a bill calling for the end of the US military presence in the country.
US President Trump once declared that he would "pull out" from the battlefield in the Middle East. However, the action of killing Soleimani not only shocked the Pentagon, but also threw a bomb into a powder keg, pushing the Middle East to the brink of war again. Why did he make such an extreme choice?
Data map: US President Trump. China News Service reporter Chen Mengtong photo
[Trump made an "extreme choice" and shocked the Pentagon? 】
According to The New York Times, senior US military officials offered President Trump a series of action options, including killing Soleimani, in the face of the increasingly tense situation in the United States and Iraq recently. But these officials believe that this is the most extreme option and Trump will not accept it. Since "911", Pentagon officials have often offered the president "improbable options" to make other options more realistic.
On December 28, 2019, Trump rejected the option of killing Soleimani and authorized air strikes against Shiite militia groups. However, a few days later, the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq was attacked, which triggered Trump’s anger. By the evening of January 2, local time, Trump had made an "extreme choice".
This shocked senior Pentagon officials.
The New York Times reported that Trump made this decision because there was intelligence that Soleimani planned an "emergency" attack, which might threaten the US embassies, consulates and military personnel in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. However, the importance and authenticity of this information itself is also controversial within the US government.
However, Trump still made this "extreme choice", and the consequences are fermenting.
On January 4th, local time, more than 2,000 people took part in an anti-war rally in downtown San Francisco, denouncing US President Trump for ordering the bombing of Iranian general Sulejmani, and demanding that the Trump administration withdraw its troops from the Middle East and resolve international disputes by peaceful means. China News Service reporter Liu Guanguan photo
[From Iran, Iraq to the United States, civil opposition is rising]
On the 5th, millions of mourners buried Mohandis, deputy commander of Soleimani and Iraqi Shiite militia "People’s Mobilization Organization", in Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan province in southwest Iran. Many people shouted anti-American slogans.
In Mashhad, Iran, more than one million people also took to the streets to express their condolences to Soleimani, but on the other hand, they also issued a rising call for war, demanding full retaliation against countries such as the United States and Israel.
Iran’s national news agency (IRNA) reported that a large number of Iranian and Iraqi youths volunteered to join the army and vowed to pay their lives in the battle with the US military to recover their blood debts from the United States.
At the same time, the discontent of the American people has also been aroused — — On January 4, anti-war demonstrations broke out in Washington, Chicago and other places in the United States. People shouted "No war or sanctions against Iran!" "The United States withdraws its troops from Iraq!" "injustice, no peace, the United States withdraws from the middle east!" Wait for the slogan.
[Iraqi parliament supports withdrawal of foreign troops: violation of Iraqi sovereignty]
In addition to popular opposition, the US military’s attack also caused dissatisfaction in Iraqi politics. On 5 January, the Iraqi National Assembly held a special session and adopted a resolution on ending the stationing of foreign troops. Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mehdi pointed out that the presence of US troops in Iraq is limited to the task of combating the "Islamic State" and training Iraqi troops, and does not include any other tasks.
Mehdi added that he had planned to meet with Soleimani on the day of his assassination, in order to receive the Iranian reply to a letter submitted by Saudi Arabia through Iraq, which included the vision of a breakthrough in Iraq and the region.
On the other hand, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned Matthew Toler, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, to protest the U.S. air strikes there and the U.S. attacks on Soleimani and Mohandis near Baghdad International Airport. The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the US action is a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and international law.
At the same time, the international alliance led by the United States to fight against the "Islamic State" in Iraq and Syria announced that it would suspend most of its current actions and focus on protecting the allied forces and their bases in the face of increasing tensions. Earlier, NATO also announced the suspension of its training mission in Iraq.
[Iran announced its withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal without any restrictions]
The Iranian side also responded. On the evening of January 5, local time, the Iranian government issued a statement saying that Tehran’s major actions in nuclear energy (including enrichment capacity, the proportion of enriched uranium, the amount of enriched substances and nuclear research and development) are no longer subject to any restrictions.
The Iranian government stressed that Iran’s nuclear program will be developed according to its own technical needs in the future. Teheran also said that Iran will return to its promise made in the Iranian nuclear deal if sanctions are lifted and Iran’s national interests are safeguarded. The International Atomic Energy Agency has the responsibility to take necessary measures to negotiate with Iran.
On the 6th, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif announced on Twitter that as the fifth and final "remedial" step, there will be no restrictions on the number of centrifuges in accordance with Article 36 of the Iranian nuclear deal.
Zarif said, "This step is within the scope of the Iranian nuclear deal, and all five steps are reversible after the effective implementation of reciprocal obligations. The comprehensive cooperation between Iran and the IAEA will continue. "
[The United States "declared war" and the Middle East opened another turbulent decade? 】
The Chinese website of Al Jazeera published an analysis article signed by Marawan Bichara, saying that Qassem Suleimani’s assassination opened another turbulent decade in the Middle East. US President Trump’s decision to approve the assassination of commander quds force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is an attack on Iran and a far-reaching "declaration of war" on the region.
For three years, Trump insisted that the United States did not seek war with Iran. However, years of "extreme pressure" policy may have hurt Iran, but it has not isolated or stopped the Iranian leadership.
After the attack on the embassy, the Trump administration was worried that the attack would be repeated, claiming that its response was to protect American lives from future attacks. But in any case, this "assassination" clearly deviated from the sanctions policy, indicating that Trump is ready to use the military and economic strength of the United States.
The Iranian side, from the very beginning, regarded Trump’s abandonment of the nuclear agreement and the imposition of sanctions as unacceptable bullying. The article pointed out that this attack will not change these policies. In fact, "more actions will lead to more similar actions".