WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Iran will probably try to attack American troops after a US strike killed a top Iranian commander.
“We think there is a real likelihood Iran will make a mistake and make a decision to go after some of our forces, military forces in Iraq or soldiers in northeast Syria,” he tells Fox News.
His comments come as the military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says there would be a “military” response “against military sites” by Tehran after the US killing of Qassem Soleimani, the powerful commander of Iran’s Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of its Revolutionary Guards.
“It would be a big mistake for Iran to go after them,” Pompeo says.
The US has about 60,000 troops in the region, including around 5,200 in Iraq. Washington ordered thousands more soldiers to the Middle East on Friday after Soleimani’s killing.
“We’re preparing for all kinds of various responses,” including cyber attacks, Pompeo says.
— AFP
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From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 5, 2020
