Iran: US killing of top general Soleimani weakens fight against Islamic State
In warning to Washington, Tehran’s nuclear chief says Islamic Republic ‘will never hesitate to strike back when necessary’
The head of Iran’s nuclear program said Monday the US killing of a high-ranking Iranian general has weakened the fight against the Islamic State terrorist group in the region.
Ali Akbar Salehi told a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna that last month’s drone strike that killed general Qassem Soleimani showed “the US administration has not yet come to its senses in recognizing the realities on the ground.”
Washington targeted Soleimani, who headed Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force, saying that he was planning attacks on Americans. In his role, Soleimani was also critical to efforts to mobilize militias in Iraq to fight the Islamic State group, and Salehi called him “the most instrumental element in combating ISIS.”
Soleimani was responsible for Iranian proxy forces across the Mideast, including terror groups sworn to Israel’s destruction. The US alleged that he was plotting attacks on American targets.
Tehran retaliated for the killing of Soleimani by launching a barrage of missiles on on two Iraqi military bases hosting American troops. There were no fatalities, though 50 US service members suffered traumatic brain injuries. Salehi reiterated, however, that Iran was prepared to do more.
“Be it known [that] as my country strongly retaliated once, it will never hesitate to strike back when necessary,” he said.
The US last month added new sanctions on Salehi’s Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and on Salehi himself, freezing any assets the director had within US jurisdiction.
In Vienna, US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette focused his remarks on Iran’s nuclear program, saying Tehran was still not providing the IAEA with answers about the discovery of uranium particles in a warehouse near the Iranian capital.
“We call on Iran to cooperate fully with IAEA in monitoring and inspecting Iran’s facilities, and in addressing all of the agency’s questions,” he said.
Soleimani’s replacement, Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, has said he would carry on with his predecessor’s work.
Washington and Tehran have seen rising tensions since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018. Since then, Iran has begun breaking terms of the deal, which limited its enrichment of uranium.
Late last month Ali Asghar Zarean, an aide to Salehi, said Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile has exceeded 1,200 kilograms (2,646 pounds), which is far beyond the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers allowed.
“Iran is increasing its stockpile of the enriched uranium with full speed,” he said. The claim has not been verified by the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
Following the US drone strike on January 3 that killed Soleimani, Iran announced it would no longer abide by any of the deal’s limitations to its enrichment activities.
In November, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium had grown to 372.3 kilograms (821 pounds) as of November 3. The nuclear deal limited the stockpile to 202.8 kilograms (447 pounds).
Iran has routinely vowed to begin enriching its stockpile of uranium to higher levels closer to weapons grade if world powers fail to negotiate new terms for the nuclear accord following the US decision to withdraw from the agreement and restore crippling sanctions. European countries opposed the US withdrawal and have repeatedly urged Iran to abide by the deal.
Trump has maintained that the 2015 nuclear deal needs to be renegotiated because it didn’t address Iran’s ballistic missile program or its involvement in regional conflicts. The other signatories to the nuclear deal — Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia — have been struggling to keep it alive.
