Nancy Pelosi announces House vote to limit Donald Trump’s war powers on Iran military action after ‘serious escalation’
HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House of Representatives will vote to limit Donald Trump’s power to take military action against Iran.
The vote on a war powers resolution set to come this week follows the U.S. president’s order to conduct an airstrike against Iranian official Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
Soleimani was killed in the airstrike at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq on Friday.
In a letter to House Democrats on Sunday, Pelosi said the airstrike was “provocative and disproportionate.”
“This action endangered our servicemembers, diplomats and others by risking a serious escalation of tensions with Iran,” Pelosi wrote.
A similar war powers resolution was introduced in the Senate by Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine.
Congress has the sole power to declare war — and legislators have complained Trump didn’t provide advance notice of the airstrike on Soleimani.
The president didn’t meet the 48-hour deadline required by the War Powers Act to tell Congress about the strike.
The document was classified and no public version was released.
Two top Senate Democrats on Monday called on Trump to immediately declassify the administration’s reasoning for the strike on Soleimani.
They said there is “no legitimate justification” for keeping the information from the public.
Trump on Sunday said he saw little reason to notify Congress about such military strikes.
He tweeted: “These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner.”
“Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!” he added.
The Trump administration is expected to brief lawmakers on its actions this week.
Soleimani’s death at the hands of the U.S. has sparked outrage in the Middle East, including Iraq, where more than 5,000 Americans troops remain — 17 years after the U.S. invasion.
Iraq’s parliament on Sunday voted in favor of a nonbinding resolution to expel American forces from Iraqi soil.
In response, Trump threatened to demand billions of dollars in compensation from Iraq for military investments made there throughout the years.
Or, Trump said, he would impose “sanctions like they’ve never seen before” if it goes through with expelling U.S. troops.
The president also threatened to target Iranian cultural sites, which rattled some of his own administration officials, as it could be a war crime.
Such military action would likely be illegal under the laws of armed conflict and the United Nations charter.
“They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people,” Trump said.
“They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn’t work that way,” he continued.
Iran has vowed to retaliate for Soleimani’s death, and during his funeral, Iranian state TV announced a bounty on Trump’s head worth $80million.
“Iran has 80 million inhabitants. Based on the Iranian population, we want to raise $80million (£61million) which is a reward for those who get close to the head of President Trump,” the announcement said.
Iran also vowed to ramp up its nukes program as it tonight pulled out of its 2015 nuclear deal.
The government announced — as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Mashhad to mourn General Soleimani — it will no longer abide by any restrictions on its operations put in place by the deal.
Additionally, Hasameddin Ashena, a top adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, implied an imminent attack on Trump properties in the U.S. as vengeance.
He tweeted a link to a Forbes article listing large Trump estates throughout the U.S., indicating that his multi-billion dollar estate is in the crosshairs.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has defended the airstrike against Soleimani.
He said the Trump administration would have “culpably negligent” if they hadn’t ordered Soleimani killed.
Pompeo did not provide evidence for previous claims that Soleimani was plotting imminent attacks on Americans.