Transcripts For ALJAZ The Grand Marriage 20240713

He was appointed to the head of the courts force. Tasked with dealing with irans. Interest and. In the middle east he was not only a man who wasnt very much revered within the general population but he was also known for his military skills he was believed to be extremely tactical his skills were also put to very good use in syria and iraq where he consulted both the assad regime as well as in the governments of the iraqi the various governments in iraq in the fight against eisel there are many iranians believe that this is a very serious escalation this is the United States telling iran that it has carried out an act of war theres a thank you study there of course well come back to you to check in on developments in iran as we continue to follow this story its just gone 6 g. M. T. Grant and here at aljazeera were bringing you rolling coverage of a major breaking news story lets bring you the latest as we understand it the south irans Supreme Leader ayatollah ali how many has vowed revenge after a u. S. Strike cuties senior military command solomonic he was assassinated in a predawn attack in the iraqi capital baghdad so the body was the leader of the elite Al Quds Force a division of revolutionary guard school which has far reaching influence in iraq syria lebanon and the on the pentagon has released a statement confirming the strike was carried out on the orders of the u. S. President donald trump and that the military has taken Decisive Action to protect u. S. Personnel the brewery by killing customs all the money the head of the Iranian Revolutionary guard corps could force the u. S. Does ignited Foreign Terrorist Organization donald trump to authorizing that strike is also tweeted no woods from him just a picture of the american flag. But it wasnt just the money who was killed the u. S. Forces have also killed the defeated commander of the iranian backed coalition of obdurate in iraq. From the Popular Mobilisation forces was killed when the airstrike targeted hes vehicle on the road to the Baghdad Airport and we have correspondents covering the story from all angles gabrial elizondo is live for us in washington d. C. Is live in terror ron but 1st well go to some other 14 whos live in baghdad and some other weve been discussing this throughout our breaking coverage people to study to wake up to this news there have been celebrations in some parts but also concern in others and the Iraqi Government concerned about something that is a breach of its sovereignty what are they signed. Well there are certainly a lot of mixed feelings the Immediate Reaction in the streets was some celebrations and this is these are of course people who have been camping out in the back got to her square but also in squares across some other iraqi cities as part of 3 months of antigovernment protests and also protests that oppose it rain an influence here so at 1st the news was met with euphoria with people basically celebrating the deaths of kassam sulaimani and the hundreds but on the broader spectrum there is a lot of concern here about what will happen next about whether any military escalation Going Forward will happen on iraqi soil and whether it could claim iraq in lives now of course iraq is a country that has been embroiled in turmoil for much of the past 16 years since the u. S. Led invasion in 2003 and it has only just come out of some of these wars especially the latest for against isis it was officially territorially defeated in 2017 and since then weve seen a rare period of the village until antigovernment protests began 3 months ago but of course now there is great concern that there could be a military escalation between the iranian backed Popular Mobilization of forces on the ground and the u. S. Forces that are based here and some other of course as youre speaking to us were getting information coming in and out of here i want to just bring this to you and then well go back to you for a response these are some of the reactions from antigovernment protesters in baghdad the killing of just some sort of money and mojados will eliminate the corrupt parties which are destroying iraq america and iran should solve their problems outside iraq we do not want them to solve it inside iraq because this will not cause we in Tahrir Square do not celebrate the killing of solid body or anyone else because this will not. Us at the end of the day and some other this really does capture doesnt that the paradox of the bind that iraqi people find themselves in they want this over they want a government that is accountable to them trust the government they dont trust the iranians they dont necessarily trust the americans other. Precisely and that statement there to reflect the complexity of the situation because basically what people have been asking for for months is for the government to really step up and to reassert its sovereignty to get rid of iranian influence and the government will simply not able to do that now the u. S. Has taken out some of the major leaders responsible for basically wielding a lot of influence over the Iraqi Government which on the one hand serves the demands of those protesters but on the other hand they also oppose u. S. Intervention here to also oppose u. S. Presence some people still regard the u. S. Presence here as an occupation even though u. S. Forces are now here at the invitation of the Iraqi Government and of course the Iraqi Government itself has yet to speak but it will likely be a condemnation of what appears to be a unilateral strike when the u. S. Struck the hizbullah brigade positions on sunday there were strong condemnation from inside the government basically Prime Minister abdullah the as well as the president condemned those strikes are calling for disassociation of any kind of military action that does not go through the official command and control structures here in iraq but of course that is not the case weve seen the u. S. Carry out it another unilateral strike we understand that the Iraqi Intelligence Services were not informed that this strike was going to happen so the Iraqi Government is likely to criticize this action and likely to call upon the all sides once again to really deescalate the situation but the problem is that there is an abundance of military actors here on the ground so the stage appears set for escalation weve had the hezbollah brigades which is the group that was targeted in the latest u. S. Air strike basically already come out of a Statement Last night saying that they are prepared for military action against the United States and there was even there was before. So you can only imagine. Theyre prepared to do in order to retaliate against those latest actions some other thank you for that some other 14 live there in baghdad but we are getting information coming in constantly of course as we continue to follow this Story Information and also video as we get it now hizbollah t. V. Has posted a video of what it says was the right to some salomone several strikes as you can see on your screen there civil strikes can be seen members of the if there is a Popular Mobilization force apparently needing to decide how to respond that video coming from hizbollah t. V. They will cross the doors to bahrain who joins us from tehran is it possible to say doors are as there are emergency meetings got under way there that what the Supreme Leader manes when he says. Revenge revenge what are the options here what do you read into that. Yes well its very difficult to say at this point we know that the Supreme National Security Council will be meeting at some point on friday that is headed by the president Hassan Rouhani as well as the head of the egypt to sherry in the speaker of parliament that meeting is really to the side under the guidance of the Supreme Leader whats to do next in response to this assassination and we also know that the foreign minister is been meeting with various officials in the Foreign Ministry for them they will also issue a response as well and they have summoned the swiss charge that they are fair in the capital of the swiss embassies in charge of dealing with irans relationship with the United States since the 2 dont have diplomatic relations so all these events are unfolding as we speak and the Supreme Leader statement is very very clear that this will not go unnoticed or unpunished the blood that has been spilled of course until the money will not be in vain and hes been martyred his the cause that hes been fighting for that islam will go on and his followers his. Believers will carry on his message and his work but that it will not go unpunished it will be a severe response we understand that there could be retaliation in within iraq to various u. S. Interests in that country also in the region its not out of the question but its very difficult to speculate at this point what we can say is that many iranians are waking up to this news on friday which is the weekend here shocked and in disbelief or in the house and so the money wasnt just the leader of the courts force working outside of iran pursuing irans agenda outside of this country and in the region he was a very much revered figure he fought in the iran iran iraq war between 191988 seed was then appointed to the head of the courts force in the early ninetys he had a very close relationship with the Supreme Leader hes seen as a National Hero inside the country and his death will certainly unite all of the unions against the United States further. And this will be seen as a severe escalation in relationship between the United States and to us or brings into place many things even particularly irans ambitions and its influence inside iraq there have been protests for months of people saying they want iran out of the out of there if it is there have been reportedly some celebrations today at the death of superman and then there are questions about what sort of body was doing inside iraq as well talk to that question of iran it seems that once inside iraq and where this goes to give. Well Major General last until the money really became very active in iraq. At the request of the former Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki at a time when i still was at the foot steps of the capital baghdad and there was a request made by the Prime Minister is that that time to the americans for them to help the iraqi forces to fight i felt and he himself has said that that called went unanswered by the u. S. Forces in iraq at the time that is when and so the money really showed up very quickly very fast with a lot of firepower and that is when they started fighting eisel in Northern Iraq and prevented them from reaching baghdad that is when i asked him some money really became this huge figure this iconic military figure within the. Military circles in iraq and iran as well there are videos that circulate of him at his at that time in the battlefields in iraq in Northern Iraq and since then his relationship has only strengthened these said he had set himself in the past that the iranian outlook force had supplied military training and of weapons to various shia militias within iraq that are not part of the government as of 2018 so his relationship in iraq was not a secret it was not a hidden fact he was there at the request of the Iraqi Government he was there consulting various militias and military units and he was involved in the government in the process that was going on but the iranian position is that he was there at the Iraqi Governments request he wasnt asserting iranian influence inside iraq that is of course the view from here d but his presence in iraq and his views on him in the past few weeks in the months leading up to the protests that weve seen vary depending on where you go what you who you speak to but in general. The view from the Islamic Republic is that. He was a man who was there there were questions of the Iraqi Government the same way that he was in syria he was very much active in syria in the war in syria fighting along the assad regime and his forces training and providing military aid and intelligence to the Syrian Government over the past 67 years so he was a very well known figure in this region and the agenda that was present for him and for the Islamic Republic is one to strengthen me share a position within the region not to let other influences such as the americans and the saudis and the israelis gain a strong foothold in those countries and that was really the point. To make sure that irans interests are secured in the region to make sure that iran stays stable and secure those to thank you joining us there from toronto but of course there is a lot of reaction coming in from different sources to this story and the u. S. Actions provoked a strong reaction in political circles in Washington Democratic House Speaker nancy pelosi has accused the trump of destruction of putting American Service members diplomats and others at risk is what she said in her statement to the arts is strike risks provoke you through the dangerous escalation of violence america and the world cannot afford to have tensions escalate to the point of no return the full Congress Must be immediately briefed on the situation of the syria situation and all the next steps including the significant escalation of deployment of additional troops to the region. Of us on easy in washington d. C. And joins us now predictably this is study to harden along partisan lines theres been a whole lot of reaction today from political sources as well as official comment as well take us through what youve got so. Yes a little after 1 in the morning here 115. 00 to be exact here on the east coast of the United States in washington its been a little over 3 hours since the pentagon confirmed that they killed so low money and i think we just need to one second here just to set the stage of where were at in washington right now the pentagon while releasing that statement confirming they killed somani has not had any briefing the pentagon has not released any sort of operational details on how they actually exactly what about killing solo money theres no other information thats been released from the pentagon at this point and we probably dont expected given the early hour mornings of friday now going to the white house and President Donald Trump still also no statement from the president as well and no word from the white house if and when we will hear from the president that being said though we are starting to hear as you mentioned from important lawmakers and its really splitting a little bit down partisan lines a little bit here and let me just read a couple things that we got here 1st from Lindsey Graham the senator from South Carolina probably one of the most hawkish senators in congress and by no coincidence probably one of trumps key allies as well Lindsey Graham tweeted earlier that he appreciates President Donald Trump says he says bold action against iranian aggression Lindsey Graham tweeting the price of killing and injuring americans has gone up drastically major blow to Iranian Regime that has american blood on its hands that kind of summarizes the sentiment from republicans that weve heard from in Congress Others such as marco rubio as well but we are hearing from democrats as well this is really important and i want to read this to you this is from former Vice President joe biden who is also one of the Top Democrats running for the. A democratic nomination to run against trump in the election next year biden put out a pretty long statement actually and he has a much different view of this he says that the Administration Statement says that the goal was to deter further attacks from iran biden says quote but this action almost certainly will have the opposite effect also and biden statement listen to this he says President Trump has just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox and he concludes by saying we could be on the brink of a major conflict across the middle east i hope the administration has thought through the 2nd and 3rd order consequences of the path that is chosen this sort of in cap you in capsule its kind of the thinking weve also been hearing from others as well that there is real worry here in washington in many quarters that has the administration thought through the consequences of this bold military action that was that was taken late thursday evening and will have to find out that answer in the coming hours and days was on the law for some washington d. C. Thank you for bring you some news of course from israel now is rather is being implicated in this by iran it believes that israel is complicit in this strike by the United States to die inside iraq now israel as a response to the events today has raised the level of alert along its borders with lebanon and syria so lets go to live and get a response from them Ahmed Gendron joins us live from beirut clearly on the minds of israelis this is the question these be answered out of lebanon today is what the response to his from his bolo will be of course is by the linked to iran. Yeah thats right santa a very significant question and we are waiting to hear an official response from his vote lead still not has happened at this hour we expect in the coming hours that we will be hearing from as a listener terry general house in austin i love now what we have heard is there has been an article thats part of it you are a part editorial thats been published in a pro hezbollah daily lebanese newspaper called the bottom the headline of this edition today said its war it went on to say whoever took this decision they mean the decision to kill him so they money is either stupid and does not know what he got himself into or hes opening a door for a war that was already prepared for this article also goes on to say that the axis of resistance by axis of resistance they mean syria it up lebanon palestine and iran groups that fought israel and america in the past that this axis of resistance as it is called in this article will surely retaliate Going Forward this is a huge worry for lebanon for several reasons on the one hand after a member of their money and somebody who was very important here in lebanon because hezbollah which is a political and military force here has been backed by iran and they are closely affiliated with iran closely allied with iran so on the one hand they money hes somebody who was really. He was irans representative who would come to lebanon all the time he was head of irans portfolio here in lebanon a very closely affiliated with hezbollah so on the one hand you have to wonder will there be retaliation what are the implications does this mean that there will be another type of proxy war starting in lebanon any time soon there are other implications as well lebanon for the past 2 and a half months has been in the midst of huge antigovernment demonstrations you have hundreds of thousands of people who have been coming out of different parts of the country who have been calling for an indepth. Political elites they want to see a complete overhaul of the political system and the reason i bring this up is because whats happening right now when it comes to hizbollah and how they might react that could have an effect on the formation of a government here you have to remember that hezbollah is part of the government here they are part of the majority bloc of parliament here it is a caretaker government in lebanon since the prime the former Prime Minister and the current caretaker Prime Minister a sad how did he resigned early on during the during the protests once that once they began in october now you have these protesters who want to see a government form you have a Prime Minister designate has india hes a sunni and hes a politician but hes backed by hezbollah theres been a lot of complications in trying to get a government formed this will only complicate matters further weve heard from analysts the past few days because hizbollah is backing this sunni Prime Minister designate has sent up that has angered other sunni politicians in this country and other groups they would like to see as but let renounce iran hezbollah probably at this point is not in a position where they could announce iran in fact it would probably draw them even closer so this could have a lot of affects Going Forward in lebanon stan. Thank you for that mohammed joining us live there from beirut we want to continue to bring you response to this strike in iraq today were hearing from the Supreme Leader of iran ayatollah seyyed ali and he says that those who kill custom saw the bodies to the way its a tough revenge this have a look at what hes had to say in his statement the friends and foes know that the path of jihad to the resistance will continue to double motivation and a definite victory awaits those who fight in this or specious path the demise of a socialist and did general is bitter but the continued fight and engagement of the final victory will mike life more for the murders and the criminals well mr. Is the editor in chief at the fox news agency and he joins us now from tehran the language is very explicit theres going to be revenge murderers and criminals a definite victory or whites those who fight in this or specious path youre there in tehran what the reading into these comments as to what the next response from iran may be. Well lets remember the day another system has long been trying to provoke iran for decades actually that the classified documents reveal that the United States has been a major contributor to Saddam Husseins chemical attack on iran iran that killed several 1000 iranian soldiers and civilians and they have been doing lots of provocations but iran has avoided escalation into a war especially a wall or on a friendly land you know all of the world on means with a void. At home and on friendly lands because like like in iraq because it would have Collateral Damage or damage the friendly population and it would make the population very much wellner it will to the western media as well as politicians who would try to portray iran as the provocateurs and the one that should be blamed so iran would i believe would not call for action in iraq this doesnt mean that iraq would not take action you know the u. S. Has staged bad attacks on the part of the official Iraqi Armed Forces that the that was named and then lets say this part of iraqs official sources and they have killed now the Deputy Commander of the and this has antagonized humiliated and insulted the iraqis as we saw. A raid at the embassy for sure the iraqis this this this is has you know very much many repercussions and this is a place the iraqis in a period carry a situation who has the iraqis trying to keep the balance between the 2 sides iran and the u. S. Now theyve been forced by the United States into war i believe that iran would not go for you know reaction in lebanon or from lebanon or from iraq but you would have. Surprising attacks outside friendly lands and lets remember that the chief commander said a few months ago that irans reaction to any kind of us u. S. Foolishness would not be contained to the region from now on that means that irans response could come at global scale i believe the americans know it pretty well and they are on the run apparently they have evacuated the embassy they know that iran would start giving them responses all across the region and the war but lets remember something more important you know as i explained earlier in the program the u. S. Army general they have been wary of you know war with iran for decades one would wonder why the u. S. Has embarked on crossing the red line you know they have named this operation to kill the top iranian general as the blue lightening blue lightening is the name of a video game where players should kill a top general called draco this seems to be a game for donald trump remembering that donald trump has been experiencing figures on the political scene back at home especially after the impeachment he was trying to score some point and gain some merits in his final year in office for the 1st them or at least and he was trying to go for a deal with north korea or a deal. With iran and after he failed to force iran into a negotiation because of his wrong approach he has started a new chapter and he has crossed the red line in august im start war with any other nation in the middle east that is very typical of us president s when they want to derail the public at home from their. Defeats like impeachment they would go for war outside but this is not a game this is going to have very serious or precautions 40. One of the ramifications and possible consequences could be a full scale war and the americans should only blame donald trump for this polish decision was to leave it there thank you for that was tough because of the editor in chief at the fox news agency from tehran we want to just bring you a quick recap of our rolling coverage and what could be seen as a major escalation in the middle east the United States has killed irans most senior military commander tessin sum of money was assassinated in an airstrike in the iraqi capital baghdad were going to take a look back now at the life of customs on the money the man loved by iranians and the general who the u. S. And israel of course an enemy fees. Major general custom solomon a was a Senior Commander of irans Islamic Revolutionary guard corps and the hit its a late could force he graduated to the role 20 years ago was regarded as the mastermind of irans military strategy in the region he really spoke in public but gave this interview in october saying irans i. O. C. Had expanded Islamic Resistance to half a 1000000 square kilometers connecting iran through iraq and syria to lebanon on. The codes for us runs a runs Foreign Military inclined to stein operations the us attributed it to campaigns in iraq lebanon syria germany kenya bahrain in turkey so money delegated iranian diplomats to meet with u. S. Officials after the september 11th attacks and they briefly worked together against the taliban but the relationship soon deteriorated during the iraq war the us sit around through the could schools and shia militias killed more than 600. 00 American Service members 17 percent of all u. S. Deaths in the war the us and irans priorities aligned once more in the fight against eisel but didnt evolve possibly actual field in april last year the u. S. Designated the Islamic Revolutionary guard corps as a terrorist organization with this designation we are sending a clear signal a clear message to irans leaders including his band of thugs that the United States is bringing all pressure to bear to stop the regimes outlaw behavior. We asked our allies and partners around the world to this thing. But salomone had the full support of irans government he received irans highest military award last year as tensions between the u. S. And iran so the money continued to support shia militias including the hezbollah brigades who were targeted in 5 us is strikes last week after they fired rockets at a us base he survived many attacks on his life inside iran and abroad but it would be in iraq where shia militias trained by his could force killed hundreds of americans that the u. S. Indeed has writing age 62 charlotte ballasts aljazeera. Lets discuss this further damage is weary is the director of the Gulf Studies Center county university and hes here with us in the studio its nice of you to come in and join us i wanted to 1st of all get a sense from you and something we havent had a chance to explore too much today but the background to whys of the money was in iraq his connections to iraq the extent of iranian influence in the country i mean theres no doubt that the iranian influence in iraq. Goes back to 1980 s. But there are 2 important milestones will cause some sort of money became fully involved on the situation in iraq the 1st milestone was basically goes back to september 2002 when he was called basically to focus on iraq and that was basically after the american decision decision to remove Saddam Hussein and then the beginning of 2003 basically the whole iraqi file was in the hands of some sort of money and the courts force in particular and that was an important milestone because because they were basically running the whole military show bringing all of the back all of the iraqis who were involved who were living in iraq and then establishing in a gradually the forces to defend the new iraq 2003 but important my list on which goes back to few years ago in order to maliki ask them so they managed to help on fighting. Basically and that was. The step where to pass some sort of a manny start with the support of sustain any establishing whats the hold that has to shall be the Popular Forces in iraq and that was an important milestone because the those forces who are responsible to fight back in the American Embassy a few days ago those basically people i diligently following in on what you have outlined is is something that arises out of the fall of saddam the sign yes the American Invasion occupation of iraq but you now have a situation where you have iranian influence in a majority counter. But you also have the americans invited in by the Iraqi Government you were there as well both of them competing in this place is this now particularly after todays assassination the proxy war that everyone feared on iraqi soil between these 2 big battles there is no doubt what happened today is a new milestone in the american iranian relations but this list not forget that you know maybe this is the final attempt to assassinate him last october do it in a minute there was a serious attempt to kill him actually on assure us that emanate in iran and at that time iran said you know israelis and for a government response a bit of that and that thats interesting because there was a previous attempt also in the sites the israelis apparently had had him in their sights before but both president obama and president bush did not want to do this because they feared the consequences not has what has done what has donald trump opened here by not only the consequences. All the previous years some sort of a man he and his forces they avoid to target that many cans. Personality american targets as well as happened in the embassy a few days of when they were willing in the fight against us as well course and that and thats to the United States wanted them actually because they well they were using them to fight. The more important the iranian government they look at this as an opportunity to work with was so hurt the National Community and say look we are fighting terrorism like you guys and those are our good guys actually they are fighting terrorism so there was a political mistake i would say use of all of this by the iranians and by the americans and that delay is what i think whats changed here then because now we have seen a significant escalation of course donald trump pulled out of the Iranian Nuclear deal of course he has talked of iran as. The threat in the region there is close ties to saudi arabia and then there is irans actions as well as through its militia in targeting american or bases with americans on them in iraq what is the lead us them to this is the point major important shift that was the american withdrawal from the Nuclear Agreement that because that is what it is an important simply am. 2017 american mr asian decided to withdraw there was more focus on the deal and how this nuclear deal will help iran to rebuild d itself economy actually politically engaged the interNational Community in a way reintroducing the iranian government to the world again and so there is no need to have any side confrontation with the United States that would roll of the administration from the deep and pushing more Police Political economy to the maximum pressure policy implemented by a truck administration put a severe depression on iranian government politically economically which led to see the tanker confrontation in the gulf now and the drawn. Chapter confrontation with with with different parties where they like the state believe that was the sponsor of that in on 100 percent so we have a situation now where we tension the talk while some are saying this is a declaration of war were hearing from irans Supreme Leader that there will be a harsh revenge how do you see this playing out particularly in these next 3 heightened very fraught days i think those statements in the last 2 or 3 hours will continue for a few days but the most important thing is what will be the consequences if any hard action done by iran against the United States lets not forget this kind of nation there will be a lot to be said how this happened. Because this guy is protected is. Basically. A very tough procedure of following him. Out of security but not get it but yet they could be these targeted attacks but this has been a particularly but i mean what happened today is very interesting because he was in the airport coming according to the reports of from syria he has you know the guy number 2 on the shabby so this is a very simple to easy target though would be a look to be you know we are waiting to to know more about the minutes before his assassination but lets not forget at the end of the day all parties they have no interest. At the end of the day they will be the prices they will be sort of revenge but the scale of that where this really the sky the skiles ubiquity the whole budget thank you much its what youre used to director of golf studies center a Tattoo University its been nice of you to have this medicine. To take you back to iran we are getting some reactions from the iranian president dos jabari hes standing by in tehran to tell us more dose of what you have. While president has had ronny has just issued the following statement here said the marker time of the brave commander of islam who has touched the hearts of all or any of the nations in the region he said that doesnt follow money has increased iranian their liberation. And their determination to stand against the United States has said that this is a coward and vicious act and its another sign of the u. S. Frustration. The president also said that no doubt the revenge of this horrific crime will be taken by the great nation of iran and other. Yeah we seem to have lost to us jabari she was bringing us that response there from from iran specifically to the success of a nation that we have seen today will tell you that line back to door searches its important to hear exactly what is being said officially in iran we get a back on the line. To finish that comment i think we have do is sit with us now sorry just for our audience lets not lose any of that just really want a little bit and tell you that comment that was my to die about to do and revenge just from the top again if you would. Certainly present has her honey has issued the following statement he says that mark has them of the brave commander of islam and iran who has touched the hearts of our all iranians and the nation is will not be forgotten he says that this coward and vicious act is another sign that the United States is frustrated and there are very disabled in this region the president said that he doesnt doubt that the will be revenge of this horrific crime will be taken by the great nation of iran and other liberated nations of the region i condemn this brutal action in express my condolences to the Supreme Leader the armed forces and the entire nation of iran this is president i found rouhani reacting to the news of the general us until the mining assassination in baghdad early this morning the president very strong words as weve heard from various other officials including the Supreme Leader himself who have vowed revenge for this mischas act he says that the blood of awesome fallen money will not that has not been spilt in vain his followers will avenge his death but his message will go on and it will be carried many here are seeing this as an act of war on iran by the United States. Revenge is the word of the day from tehran we heard the same language from the Supreme Leader now Hassan Rowhani talking about revenge not just me ron but other countries in the region its impossible for you decide exactly what that would be but from what you hear from what you see from what history tells us as well of this tit for tat provocation weve seen recently between america and iran what is likely to unfold here what is this revenge going to look like. Well it will likely be further escalation of attacks on u. S. Military installations and interests 1st and iraq that will be the most Immediate Reaction that were likely to see in the coming hours and days i think we are going to see more attacks carried out on the u. S. Military facilities in their own baghdad that will be the 1st reaction i think we also likely to see reaction from hezbollah in lebanon weve already heard Statement Issued from that group as well about this saying that this is war essentially for them. Since all the money was very very close to the leader of hezbollah has on the style of they fought alongside each other to be israel during the war in 2006 and also selling money gave his only interview about those events that led to their victory at that time against israel so as well a quick to react to this as well as lebanon is a place to watch as well as syria of course we have to watch the reaction from the Syrian Government has all the money has been very active alongside the assad Regime Forces in syria over the past 56 years his forces the host force has been training various military organizations within the Syrian Government to beat various groups as well as eiffel and we are waiting to find out exactly what will come from an emergency meeting that has been called by the Supreme National Security Council in iran that is headed by president Hassan Rouhani as well as the head of the judiciary and the speaker of parliament this organization is in charge of advising what was wrong will do when it comes to its Foreign Policy under the guidance of the Supreme Leader theyre going to have an emergency session on friday were waiting to find out what they will come up with but for now 3 days of mourning have been declared in the Islamic Republic by the Supreme Leader himself joseph thank you do his job of joining us live there the results responds to this job and of course that is just part of what its like to blood and questions. About the legality of the strike in iraq the un special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions agnes kalama has condemned the killings and she has tweeted the targeted killing of kassam saw the money and. A most likely unlawful and violates International Human rights law outside the context of active all still ities the use of drones or other means of fatah getting chilling is almost never likely to be legal well lets continue our conversation with with our guests but judes wary who is the director of the gulf studies university. A pick up on almost comments were hearing from iran we heard earlier from Supreme Leader talking about revenge president rouhani talking about revenge. Our reporter there giving us some indication of what that might look like via irans proxies in the region shes talking about libyan on shes talking about iraq syria and other places when you hear the wood revenge what do you think do you assists iran strategy. You know that the narrative we are hearing from to iran of course that is a normal reaction but it has you know it has a message itself the 1st message of it is basically to those who are on the ground used to work with us im sorry manny and used to defend what so called the iranian interest in different files where theyre in lebanon and iraq and yemen in syria but there is a message to them that the political system the those who are leading the country are you know are behind you and we will have the action to to to punish who have done this killing so they money thats an important its a psychological message actually to get the people that we are here so dont be dont panic the 2nd message to the international to the United States in particular because lets not forget this administration had as you know put a serious a pressure on the political system and actually it pushed the rouhani government in particular to dakota they failed to deliver economically they failed to deliver politically without weve seen protests inside iran really into their own into absolutely last coburn of them but and the reports yesterday talked about 1500 killing people where were you so this may be an opportunity to for iran the iranian government to be able to build that that sense of nationalism if you have a look at its own people who are not happy with the government thats the support that they want to say at the end of the day this is an iranian guy you know you should you should you should be we should defend him and we should not allow that i tested to do this in any in any kind of justification thats really interesting that theres a domestic political aspect to this. What did you while youre here is world to try to connect the dots more broadly in the region when it comes to american strategy it is difficult to get a read on what is the consistent line here donald trump says he wants to get out of fighting wars. In the region he pulls down troops from syria he does the deal with turkey and russia to take over control on the Turkey Russia border he puts more troops into saudi he hes in american troops in iraq he pulls out of the iran deal and now this strike today what is the where is the consistency of americas approach to the region and does iran suspect or or feel as if they maybe some has it in c. Or some confusion or lack of consistency in the u. S. Administration when it comes to the regime i think the answer to this question is by looking pretty of this administration. If you go back to the. 2216 what was the pretty of the time from the candidate iran iraq iran and the main thing was is they did he want he was considered the did the worst the actually and he want to burn it so so that was a pretty to trump and then when he came to the white house the 1st thing he did he said ok we have that we have to deal with this you know he continued 6 months gradually he announced that the artist it is actually withdrawing from the and more important he said we will implement maximum pressure on iran we will impose more sanctions on iran because this is the way how we can push iran to change its behavior of the can i take you back a step and look at the deal itself because there have been critics for a long time about the deal critics of president obama who said you are making a deal with a country that ultimately empowers iran the end of the sanctions. Hundreds of billions of dollars potentially back into the iranian economy legitimizing iran brings it in from the cold was did iran take advantage of that was that a misstep. From barack obama did he give too much away and reality no politically yes that was a Good Opportunity to to the Iranian Regime and to the answer they have you lost that they have used it for less than one year by by saying look we are a normal country we are not a bad guys as people we are out of not our old state as the United States used to describe us we we are you know a country with with a history of the 1000 years and all of this is negative basically and slogan so basically they benefited politically and culturally and diplomatically of this and that is the reason why israel and the. Decision they said oh this should not this should not continue because they are gaining and we do we dont need we need to keep iran on the court and as a bad guy we should not allow them to do so and that what some did actually tom said ok i will attend iran for the 1st set where iran is a rogue state so was this. Was this a mistake was this a miscalculation for donald trump did he underestimate iran and irans proxies in the region to have it at a point right now where were seeing this is that were seeing banks the 2 countries maybe and maybe not because basically you know what we havent seen a play on because what he did its basically focusing on the deal and he said this is my right eye the president of the rightist it is the right of the United States to say this deal was wrong and withdrawing of it i have an option the option is implementing maximum pressure and if iran willing to come and negotiate with me im happy to speak to iran and we you know amend that deal and have a new deal with the with so he was actually keeping the door open with the heart actually he did not to close the door of negotiation and he was always said you know iran is going to cut it at that but thats thats fascinating because d. D. Ran sense of weakness did irans sense that it can withstand maximum pressure longer than. Donald trump is prepared to maintain a commitment to the middle east very action of iran since may 2019 sure and importantly action that iran cannot cope with the economic pressure because there was an important statement by the iranian officials that if our oil is knocked out the oil will not be out of the homeless so basically it was a decade message that if they imposed on all the others they would not be over to explode or so since that time we witness the attack on tankers. And then the different operation and then you know targeting and all of this so all of this if you put it in a context is actually linked to the withdrawal from the iraq impact its certainly was a Pivotal Moment thank you against a mother who is wary of the director of the Gulf Study Center a cattle university there were just look back at the past week because things have absolutely escalated dramatically between the u. S. And iranian backed groups in that time in iraq last week a rocket attack struck in iraq a military base killing an American Contractor 2 days later u. S. Launched air strikes against a pro Iranian Armed group the hizbollah brigades 27 of his father was killed in that attack now that enraged members and supporters of pro ronnie and paramilitary groups in iraq he stormed the American Embassy compound in baghdad the stuff in question is the editor in chief of the fox news agency and he joins us now from tehran youre listening to that summary of the past weight and also setting that against what weve seen is rising tension between iran and the United States since donald trump tore up the Iranian Nuclear deal its delivered us to this point or if you could quickly please just give us a sense of how you see the immediate future the next 48 hours the next 72 hours playing up while were hearing these to increasing richard both the United States and iran. Well 1st of all i believe the iran is reaction or a military response as i said earlier with not be contained to the region it would come anywhere in the war and. It will be pending as a matter of fact im not sure if iran would provide a Swift Response in the next 24. 00 or 48 hours iran might be willing to keep the americans waiting and wear off their preparedness level and their war using concerns. To increase their concerns maybe it comes after we may be more or less but for sure there will be or will be tough you know response the harshest ever given to the United States actually in this region and in the war it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that could trigger even war war 3 as many have rushed to their pages to trend this hash tag i cannot say that is wrong or impossible as a matter of fact there is such a possibility but the repercussions are not just in the military field in the region and you know in the world there are ramifications. For iran the u. S. Relations 1st of all this shows that out that the u. S. Started i mean donald trump started going the same path that obama did through sanctions and posing a credible military threat but not military action only the threat in order to change the calculations in tehran to push tehran to the negotiating table they failed actually their maximum pressure policy failed thats you know why when they sent their drones and warships to Iranian Border and their drone violate that Iranian Border and iran shut it down they never provided that response because they were still hopeful that they could push tehran to the negotiating table through economic leverage and also through all cycle. Paul walker and but now that they have crossed this line this shows that they have grown disappointed at their airlie year plan and they now want to go for you know. Action in heart the warfare in military stuff you know but mystified let me let me. Just and then also because its very telling here because i just want to follow up to that point youve made about the american reaction because america says and i want to get your response to this america says no this was a preemptive action its not an. Escalation it is a preemptive action against someone they had designated a terrorist leading what they did signal to terrorist organization and someone who had my direct threats to american lives and american property thats what the United States is saying modernist elation but a preemptive action. No of course not as i explained earlier in our own was not willing for an escalation especially in iraq friendly state well the u. S. Has been raising claims about iran but they never provided any substantiating evidence in order to prove their claims like when they staged an attack few days ago on the Popular Forces in iraq they claimed that they were affiliated to iran and they they had attacked the u. S. Base in iraq and other bases in iraq but they never presented any proof to substantiate their claim but there are no substantiating evidence that the you is that Saddam Hussein to attack iran but there are a large number of statements made by former prison u. S. Officials who all the knowledge that these were u. S. Allies that armed and 1 and trained and supported. To start a war against you know a proxy war for a war against iraq like in lebanon and in syria and in iraq but lets remember that there would be repercussions and. In the in terms of the political stage inside iran for sure differences among the different camps political camps from across the reformist the principle is all the differences are already forgotten they have all. To seek revenge lets remember this happened when according to a. Poll. 82 percent of uranian hate the United States thats the highest rate ever recorded in the history after the. Islamic revolution according to maryland universes the a poll that was conducted few months ago 2 months ago now this stuff just means that even there is more hatred toward the United States on this also the overall be repercussions in the upcoming parliamentary elect. Action and in rejection of c. F. B. And power mall iran would not hesitate and i believe you know after the weak performance of the reformists and this administration it was expected that the princess would the principal this with the window next election on leave it there are elections but now for sure there are allusion to reprint simple this would have to offer a hand in the next election on the on that point well have to live in the stuff thank you so much mr focus issue that i want to bring you now a quick recap of our rolling coverage on what can be seen as a major escalation in the middle east the United States has killed irans most senior military commander same saw the money was assassinated in an airstrike in the iraqi capital baghdad lets take a look back at the loss of the man loved by iranians and the general the u. S. And israel called an enemy for years. Major general custom solomon a was a Senior Commander of irans Islamic Revolutionary guard corps and the hit its a late could force he graduated to the role 20 years ago was regarded as the mastermind of irans military strategy in the region he really spoke in public but gave this interview in october saying irans i. O. C. Had expanded Islamic Resistance to half a 1000000 square kilometers connecting iran through iraq and syria to lebanon on. The codes for us runs a runs Foreign Military inclined to stein operations the us attributed it to campaigns in iraq lebanon syria germany kenya bahrain in turkey so money delegated iranian diplomats to meet with u. S. Officials after the september 11th attacks and they briefly worked together against the taliban but the relationship soon deteriorated during the iraq war the us sit around through the could schools and shia militias killed more than 600. 00 American Service members 17 percent of all u. S. Deaths in the war the us and irans priorities aligned once more in the fight against eisel but didnt evolve possible field in april last year the u. S. Designated the Islamic Revolutionary guard corps as a terrorist organization with this designation we are sending a clear signal a clear message to irans leaders including his band of thugs that the United States is bringing all pressure to bear to stop the regimes outlaw behavior we ask that our allies and partners around the world do the same. But salomone had the full support of irans government he received irans highest military award last year as tensions heightens between the u. S. And iran so the money continued to support shia militias including the hezbollah brigades who were targeted in 5 u. S. Is strikes last week after they fired rockets at a us base he survived many attacks on his life inside iran and abroad but it would be in iraq where shia militias trained by his could force killed hundreds of americans that the u. S. Indeed has writing age 62 charlotte ballasts aljazeera