Posts Tagged: Iran news

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House Votes to Approve Resolution Restricting Trump’s War Powers in Iran

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Photos: Getty Images

The House voted unanimously on Thursday to approve a war powers resolution that, at least in theory, limits President Trump's use of military force in Iran.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 224-194 to pass the resolution which would restrict Trump's ability to start a war against Iran unless he receives approval from Congress.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi drafted the resolution in response to the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at the Baghdad Airport on Jan. 3.

Pelosi and other Democratic lawmakers were furious that Trump didn't inform them before he ordered the strike.

The House resolution is non-binding meaning even if it is approved by the Senate, it would not go to Trump's desk for a signature.

"This is a statement of the Congress of the United States. I will not have that statement diminished by having a president veto it or not," said Pelosi during a press conference on Thursday.

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Boeing 737 Crashes in Iran, Killing 176 Aboard; Missile Strikes in Iraq Unrelated to Crash

Photo: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A civilian jetliner crashed in Iran shortly after take-off from Tehran Airport, about an hour after Iran fired missiles at Iraq bases that house U.S. troops.

The crash killed all 176 souls on board the Ukrainian airliner early Wednesday morning local time.

Among the dead are 3 British citizens, 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 3 Germans, and 10 Swedes.

Video footage shows smoldering wreckage at the crash site shortly after dawn on Wednesday.

Safety experts said the plane crash was caused by engine problems that were unrelated to the missile attack on Iraq military bases. The airline said the pilot did not declare an emergency.

There were no American casualties or injuries in the missile attacks. The damage was minimal after the Iranians fired 15 ballistics missiles at the Iraqi bases where U.S. troops are stationed.

According to published reports, the missiles struck 2 empty bases in Iraq. The Pentagon was warned before the start of the attack and the bases were cleared of U.S. personnel before the missiles struck.

President Donald Trump assured Americans in a tweet regarding the missile attack late Tuesday night.

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Iran to US: ‘We launched and concluded an attack in self-defense’

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Iran fired missiles at multiple Iraqi military bases that house U.S. troops late Tuesday night. No American soldier was injured or killed during the attacks that occurred around 4 a.m. Wednesday local time.

Pentagon officials said Iran launched 15 ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases in western Iraq. Four of the missiles fell out of the sky. At least 2 of the missiles hit Iraqi bases.

President Donald Trump assured Americans in a tweet regarding the missile attack.

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In a tweet late Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the attack was in retaliation for the targeted killing of Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani.

Zarif said the attack was over.

"Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched."

He continued: "We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggressions."

Soleimani was killed in an air drone strike after he arrived at the Baghdad Airport from Syria on Jan. 3.

Soleimani was killed after the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was attacked and torched last week. An American contractor died in the attack.

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Pelosi Charges President Trump With War Crimes Against Iran

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Photos: Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is charging President Donald Trump with a war crime for killing Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who is responsible for the murders of hundreds of Americans.

In a letter sent to her Democrat colleagues in the House of Representatives late Sunday, Pelosi said she is drafting a "War Powers Resolution" that charges Trump with a war crime under international law.

Pelosi claims the death of Soleimani was "provocative and disproportionate."

The letter further claims that Trump's military action amounts to a war crime because he did not have Congressional approval to go after an Iranian government official on foreign soil.

Soleimani was a military commander, not a government official.

Soleimani was among 10 Iranians killed in a surgical drone strike at the Baghdad Airport on the night of Jan. 3. He was 62.

Pelosi's War Resolution would limit Trump's military powers and prevent him from taking any more military action against Iran.

Pelosi's letter is considered America's "pre-emptive surrender to Iran."

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Secret Service tightens security at Mar-a-Lago after Iranian presidential adviser posts list of Trump’s properties

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Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Secret Service agents have beefed up security and added four checkpoints at Mar-a-Lago to examine vehicles for explosives amid threats from Iran.

Security is even tougher at Mar-a-Lago after Iran placed an $80 million bounty on Trump's head as revenge for the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a drone strike last week.

According to London's Daily Mail, an Iranian presidential adviser posted a list of Trump’s properties around the world as potential targets.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Among those properties is Trump's expansive Mar-a-Lago estate. Guests must pass through as many as four Secret Service checkpoints to enter Mar-a-Lago.

The extra protections are in addition to the security measures by the U.S. Air Force, which enforces a no-fly zone over Mar-a-Lago whenever Trump is in town.

The U.S. Coast Guard also ramped up patrols in the waters around Mar-a-Lago and Palm Beach police have shut down roads leading to the estate.

Trucks and other vehicles are searched and the U.S. Army maintains strict patrols on the grounds of the posh estate.

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Pelosi Moves to Limit Trump’s War Powers; Iran announces $80M bounty on Trump’s head

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Photos: Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she plans to limit President Donald Trump's military actions in Iran by introducing a War Powers Resolution in the House.

"This week, the House will introduce and vote on a War Powers Resolution to limit the President's military actions regarding Iran," Pelosi wrote in a letter to fellow Democrats overnight.

The House Democrats voted to impeach Trump in December. But Pelosi is still withholding the articles of impeachment from the Senate that would allow the impeachment process to continue.

Pelosi's resolution "reasserts Congress's long-established oversight responsibilities by mandating that if no further Congressional action is taken" the military action in Iran will "cease within 30 days."

Pelosi and other Democrats criticized Trump for not informing Congress of his plans to kill Iranian general Qassem Soleimani with a drone air strike last week.

Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon that "legal notice is not required" for him to take action to protect the country.

Trump advised Congress - in a tweet - that he will "quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner" if Iran attacks "any U.S. person or target."

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Iran has vowed to take revenge on Trump and America for killing Soleimani. But Trump hit back, saying he has 52 targets in Iran that will go up in smoke if Americans are attacked.

The targets include military sites, oil fields, and even cultural and historic sites in Iran.

"They're allowed to kill our people. They're allowed to torture and maim our people. They're allowed to use roadside bombs and blow our people up, and we're not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn't work that way," Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday.

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In other news, Iran reportedly placed an $80 million bounty on Trump's head. Mexican comedian George Lopez offered to do the job for half that amount.

Lopez made the comment on an Instagram post shared by Chicano Worldstar, a news outlet that wrote about the bounty on Trump's head.

"We'll do it for half," Lopez wrote.

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Trump Angers Top Intelligence Officials, Calling Them ‘Naive’ and ‘Weak’

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President Donald Trump alienated the intelligence community when he referred to top intelligence officials as "naive", "Passive" and "weak".

Trump's latest outburst comes a day after members of his own national security team contradicted some of his biggest policy claims.

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