Is this what the beginning of World War III looks like? Who knows, but President Trump is ratcheting up his rhetoric following the missile strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Friday morning.
Trump is warning Iran he already has 52 targets to strike back at if Tehran doesn't knock off the threats. The President tweeted that’s one for each of the 52 American hostages taken in 1979.
In a series of tweets Trump is warning Iran if it strikes any Americans, or American assets, he will go after those targets, some of which he says “are very high level and important to Iran and Iranian culture.” Meanwhile, Iran is abandoning the limits of the 2015 nuclear deal that it struck with a number of countries.
- While the United States “decertified” our participation in the agreement in 2018, Iran's announcement that it won't be confined by restrictions to enrich uranium seriously ups the ante – especially as other world leaders have been trying to save the deal.
- Rocket attacks were being reported in Baghdad last night. Iraqi officials say two of the rockets hit the heavily fortified Green Zone where the U.S. Embassy is located. No casualties were reported. Several rockets were also fired toward the Balad air base north of Baghdad where American troops are stationed.
- What next? While Mr. Trump continues talking tough – and Iran’s newly installed general is vowing revenge against the U.S., House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold a vote on a resolution to limit President Trump's military actions against Iran. Pelosi said she's concerned that Trump's decision to launch an airstrike that killed a top Iranian general was done without respect to Congress's constitutional war powers authority. Pelosi said the resolution will mandate that the administration's military action against Iran must end after 30 days unless further congressional action is taken.
- That timeline may not matter as Iraq's prime minister is expected to tell the U.S. ambassador to Iraq that American troops have to leave the country. Over the weekend, Iraq's parliament voted on a resolution calling for U.S. troops to get out. Iraq's prime minister will likely ask U.S. ambassador Matthew Tueller for a timeline for American troops to leave. Officially, there are about five-thousand members of the American military in country.
Source:CNBC