US has ‘virtually declared war’ on Iran, says Obama-era official

The assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the Commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), means the United States has “virtually declared war” on Iran, says an official with the administration of former US President Barack Obama.

According to Press TV, Robert Malley as cited by the Hill in a report on Saturday said “For a whole host of reasons, at a time when the U.S. has in their eyes virtually declared war on them with the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, they can’t afford not to react.”

He further anticipated that the Trump administration’s move could escalate tensions between Tehran and Washington.

“Even though we may not know the when or the what or the where, it’s clear that there will be an Iranian response. And that’s where the notion of deterrence really falls flat because Iran will respond, at which point one imagines that the US will want to respond as well,” Malley said.

According to Benjamin Friedman, Policy Director at Defense Priorities, a think tank based in Washington, DC, Washington has made the move without considering its consequences.

“Responsible policy-making has to consider the consequences, and I fear that this act has consequences that were under-considered or not considered at all,” Friedman said.

The IRGC announced in a statement on Friday morning that Major General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Second-in-Command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), had been martyred in an airstrike.

An airstrike targeted their car on the Baghdad International Airport road following an order from US President Donald Trump.

Trump’s opponents and US allies have responded to the assassination with caution and concerns.

Iran has vowed that a “harsh revenge" is awaiting the US following the strike that martyred the leader of the Quds Force.

ME