Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said in a statement on Tuesday that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's allegations of Iran's ties with the al-Qaeda terror group (banned in Russia) are false.
Earlier in the day, Pompeo accused Iran of harboring al-Qaeda and becoming the group's "new home base."
"From designating Cuba to fictitious Iran "declassifications" and [al-Qaeda] claims, Mr. "we lie, cheat, steal" is pathetically ending his disastrous career with more warmongering lies," Zarif said via Twitter. "No one is fooled. All 9/11 terrorists came from [Pompeo's] favorite destinations; none from Iran."
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Pompeo’s statements could represent an escalation in the US’s ability to use force against Iran.
ReplyDeleteUS legislation, the 2001 Authorisation of Use of Military Force (AUMF), allows US forces to pursue al-Qaeda anywhere in the world, meaning Pompeo’s claim could allow the Trump administration to say it already had Congressional approval for an attack on Iran under that authorisation if al-Qaeda were proved to be on Iranian territory.
The US Congress, following the January 2020 assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, passed a resolution that would have required the president to seek Congressional authorisation before taking military action against Iran, which Trump vetoed in May.