Qasem Soleimani: Trump threatens Iraq with sanctions if US troops are expelled
President Donald Trump has threatened Iraq with severe sanctions after its parliament called for US forces to leave the country, as the backlash over the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani intensifies.
“We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s [in Iraq]. It cost billions of dollars to build, long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it,” Trump told reporters.
Read more: Dominic Raab urges ‘nefarious’ Iran to calm tensions
He added that if US troops were asked to leave Iraq and this was not done on a friendly basis, “we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.”
Tensions in the region have risen following the US assasination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in an air strike in Baghdad last week.
Soleimani led Iran’s Quds military force. Trump yesterday told reporters Soleimani had been planning attacks against Americans.
Iran has vowed “severe revenge” over the killing, and the new head of the Quds has pledged to expel the US from the Middle East.
European leaders last night called on all sides to show restraint. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Angela Merkel issued a joint statement saying the current cycle of violence “must be stopped”.
The leaders said they were concerned by the “negative” role Iran has played in the region, but called on all sides to “exercise utmost restraint and responsibility”.
They said there was “an urgent need for de-escalation” in the Middle East.
“We stand ready to continue our engagement with all sides in order to contribute to defuse tensions and restore stability to the region,” they added.
Johnson yesterday spoke with Trump to discuss the situation in Iraq and Iran.
The White House said in a statement that the leaders had “reaffirmed the close alliance between the two countries” in the call.
Read more: UK nationals warned against travelling to Iraq and Iran
The prime minister is today expected to brief ministers on the growing crisis in the Middle East.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has warned UK nationals to avoid travelling to Iraq or Iran in the wake of Soleimani’s assassination.