President Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq if they revoke their invitation to US troops stationed in the country.
US troops are stationed in Iraq on an invitation from the government but the Iraqi parliament voted on Sunday to expel the troops in response to Trump’s assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last week. The resolution must still be approved by the Iraqi government and could take a long time to play out but the vote sends a message that Iraq opposes the US escalating tensions with Iran.
"Did this gain us any security?" Iraqi President Barham Salih told The New Yorker. "Did this bring us any stability? No. A lot of people were killed. A lot of people were maimed. A lot of resources were wasted and squandered."
Trump threatens Iraq:
“If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis, we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. “If there’s any hostility that they do anything we think is inappropriate, we are going to put sanctions on Iraq — very big sanctions on Iraq.”
Trump also threatens war crimes against Iran:
Trump also doubled down on his threat to take out Iranian cultural sites if Iran retaliates. Targeting cultural sites amounts to a war crime.
“They’re allowed to kill our people,” Trump complained on Air Force One. “They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn’t work that way.”
