On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the President’s strategy to take out terrorist commander Qasem Soleimani was justified and saved the lives of Americans.
“In the end, our Iran policy is about protecting and defending the homeland and securing American lives.” -Mike Pompeo
“I know that the efforts that we have taken not only last week with the strike against [Qasem] Soleimani but the strategy that we’ve employed has saved American lives,” Pompeo said during a press briefing at the U.S. State Department.
He also mentioned that the Iran’s terroristic acts are not specifically in the Middle East.
Pompeo also said that Iran’s terrorist activities are not limited to the Middle East. “In Afghanistan there’s an aspect of that conflict that deserves more attention,” he added. “And that is the Islamic Republic of Iran’s involvement there.”
“Iran has refused to join the regional and international consensus for peace and is, in fact, today, actively working to undermine the peace process by continuing its long, global effort to support militant groups there,” he continued.
“Most people know about Iran’s proxy networks in the Arab world but the regime also has a relationship to the Taliban and other groups,” Pompeo said. “The Taliban entanglement in Iran’s dirty work will only harm the Afghanistan peace process.”
“And we could see clearly not only had Soleimani done all of the things that we have recounted … a massacre in Syria,” he exclaimed “Enormous destruction of countries like Lebanon and Iraq, where they’ve denied … people in those two countries sovereignty, independence, and freedom.”
“This is all Soleimani’s handiwork,” Pompeo said in conclusion “So if you’re looking for evidence you need look no further than the days that led up to the strike that was taken against Soleimani.”
Pompeo also put all the rumors of Trump’s orders being illegal to a rest.
He said the move was “entirely legal.”
“It was the right decision,” Pompeo added, “We got it right.”