President Donald Trump is prepared to "respond appropriately" if Iran does not de-escalate its actions in response to the U.S. for killing one of its most powerful figures, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in an airstrike at Baghdad's international airport, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday morning.
He told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" that Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, had "enormous blood on his hands" and the airstrike that killed him was "both consistent with deterrence and with disrupting an imminent attack" that would have killed both Americans and Muslims.
"What was sitting before us was his travels throughout the region," Pompeo told Fox News' "Fox and Friends, explaining that the imminent attack would have killed many Muslims, including Iraqis and people in other countries as well.
"It was a strike that was aimed at both disrupting that plot and deterring further aggression," said Pompeo. "We hope (it is) setting the conditions for de-escalation as well."
It is hoped that the Iranian regime, which has sworn revenge for Soleimani's death, will see the United States' resolve and will de-escalate and "take actions consistent with what normal nations do," said Pompeo. "In the event that they don't and go the other direction, I know that President Trump and the entire United States government is prepared to respond appropriately."
He reiterated the Trump administration's stance on CNN's "New Day," and that the "American people should know that the President's decision to remove Soleimani from the battlefield saved American lives."
The secretary told both Fox and CNN that he could not give more details about further attacks that Iran and Soleimani had been planning against Americans.
"You need not look any further back than just the last few months," said Pompeo. "(There have been) dozens and dozens of attacks against American and allied interests throughout the region by Iran and its proxies, culminating with what happened with an American killed on Dec. 27."
Trump, who the Pentagon confirmed ordered the deadly airstrike, has shown strength that is important, and now was the time to take action, Pompeo added.
"The men and women on the ground there today, we take seriously the need for their security," said Pompeo. "We are working on it. We have been planning for this and we are prepared."
Meanwhile, the United States has been watching Iraq's protests over the last months, and those were against a "terrible leadership" that had come out in the past decades.
"We watched last night, you saw the video of Iraqis dancing in the streets," said Pompeo. "The absence of Qassem Soleimani is a boon to this region. We resisted risks last night. It was very clear we did so."
Pompeo also called on officials from former President Barack Obama's administration to end their criticism of the decisions now being made.
"I would hope that those former administration officials will just simply get off the stage and allow President Trump and our team to do the right thing," said Pompeo. "We took a very different approach. We didn't send pallets of cash to the Iranians. We didn't pay for hostages. We didn't create a deal which would have given them a clear pathway to a nuclear weapon. We have taken a very different approach. We believe it's the one that will ultimately lead to success and stability in the Middle East."
Meanwhile, there is always the risk of retribution from Iran, including cyberattacks, as "they have a deep capability," said Pompeo. "We have considered that risk. The risk in the United States is real too. Soleimani, the man we took out yesterday, orchestrated an attack right here in Washington, D.C., not too terribly long ago. It was unsuccessful. But that was him. That was this same guy. Is he a bad actor. He was involved in the Beirut bombings that killed Americans."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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