The US has warned of “severe consequences” if Iran attacks any of the 52 people sanctioned on Saturday for being involved in the attack with a drone which, on January 3, 2020, ended the life of General in Baghdad Qasem Soleimaní and his companions.
“If Iran attacks any of our compatriots, including any of these 52 people, it will face severe consequences.“White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
“Don’t hesitate for a minute: USA it will protect and defend its citizens. This includes those who are currently serving in the military and those who served in the past, “Sullivan said.
Among those sanctioned, whose names were published in a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry, there are the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, Mark Milley, the US National Security Advisor, Robert Charles O’Brien Jr, the US Deputy Under Secretary for Homeland Security, Matthew F. Pottinger and the Chief of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Kenneth McKenzie.
The list also includes the founder of the private military firm Blackwater, Erik Dean Prince, and former United States Representative to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
The Iranian statement, which only spoke of 51 persons, indicated that those sanctioned participated in decision-making, planning, organization, financing, support, direction or implementation of the “terrorist act” against Soleimaní or “by supporting this heinous crime, they have promoted terrorism that is a threat to international peace and security.”
Sanctions allow seize the assets of those individuals in Iran. Soleimaní, former general in charge of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guardians (IRGC), died in a US drone bombardment on January 3, 2020 near Baghdad international airport.
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