Tensions escalated in the Middle East after Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike authorized by US President Donald Trump the near Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
US Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, on Friday filed a “war powers resolution” to oblige authorization by Congress of any use of US military force against Iran “to prevent further escalation of hostilities” with the Islamic republic.
Kaine’s resolution, which he says is “privileged”, will force the Senate to vote. The resolution requires that any offensives against Iran must be “explicitly” authorized by Congress by the use of a declaration of war or the specific authorization for use of military force. The Senator noted that this resolution does not prevent the US from defending itself in case of imminent attack.
Senator Kaine has been warning for years against Trump’s use of military force without authorization by Congress. Kaine also warned of the consequences of pulling the US from the Iranian Nuclear deal and pointed out that Trump was “blundering toward war” with Tehran.
The Senator also slammed Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Tehran, saying that it “has made the region less stable, divided us from key allies, and is driving our adversaries together”.
On Friday, US forces conducted a drone attack near Baghdad airport targeting a vehicle containing Soleimani, the commander who led Iran’s IRGC Quds force. Trump said that his administration took preemptive action against Soleimani to “stop a war”.
An advisor to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the United States crossed a “red line” with the attack and Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has stated that a “harsh retaliation is waiting” for the United States.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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