Iran Claims US Called For Deescalation After Soleimani Assassination
The Iranian Foreign Minister claims the US called for immediate deescalation after its airstrike which killed Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.
The Iranian Foreign Minister claims the US called for immediate deescalation after its airstrike which killed Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian claimed that Washington sent a message calling for calm, in addition to claiming the US had made several offers following the death of Soleimani, suggesting that if the Islamic Republic did not react, some sanctions would be lifted.
However, it is unclear why the revelations are being made now since this has never been stated by Iranian officials before, and there have been no previous indications of it from either side to corroborate the latest claims.
Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport in 2020 on the orders of then-President Donald Trump, who said that the top military commander was actively planning attacks on American diplomats and service members in the region in addition to members of the administration.
Five days after Soleimani's death, Iran launched ballistic missiles at the Iraqi base hosting US troops. While no Americans were killed, there were reports of dozens of servicemen suffering concussion due to the powerful explosions.Since then, the Islamic Republic has maintained its threats of revenge for Soleimani including at a recent speech given by the Iranian president at the United Nations General Assembly.
Plots were discovered in the United States aimed at assassinating former US National Security Advisor John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, reiterated Monday that he does “not have any reason to believe an Iranian influence operation infiltrated the United States government,” in spite of troves of information and documents revealed in a joint investigation between Iran International and Semafor, lifting the lid on a years-long influence operation reaching the top echelons of Washington.
Directly implicating suspended Iran envoy, Robert Malley, the investigation revealed a web of actors bolstering the regime’s reach in the corridors of the White House through thousands of emails combed through by the Iran International and Semafor team. People named in the emails have not denied the veracity of the documents.
However, Miller merely told reporters this week that the investigation is ongoing into Malley, and he would not be drawn into questions on the matter which highlighted his three aides were part of an Iranian government network.
The investigation also brought light to the fact that the think tank, The Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), was established by the Iranian foreign ministry in 2014 to extend Tehran's under the table dealings. Its members simultaneously worked for top Western think tanks and gave advice to both the US and Europe, showing the wide reach of the regime’s ‘soft power’ project.
There is no doubt it has left the Biden Administration in one of its foreign policy weak points since coming to power, especially after Malley was put on unpaid leave. Critics and US politicians are now watching its Iran failings unravel daily. On the back of a prisoner swap deal which saw $6bn of frozen Iranian funds freed up in exchange for five US-Iranian dual nationals, there is no way out for Biden now, whose Iran blunders continue to draw global criticism.
Many Republicans have indicated their readiness to investigate the issue and have sharply criticized the administration. In the latest such statement, Senator Bill Hagerty wrote on X, “The existence of the Zarif-masterminded Iran Expert Initiative raises new questions about the controversial backchannel engagements of former SECSTATE John Kerry, Rob Malley and their IEI associates during the Trump years like this John Kerry held backchannel talks with Iran, Javad Zarif - Washington Times”
Iran scholar Alireza Nader, was among the many outraged by the continued denials, writing on X: “Who is [the] State Department Spokesman kidding? We can all see what’s going on here. There’s a ton of evidence showing that the Islamic Republic has an active influence/lobby operation in Washington, DC, with regime sympathizers in the US government.”
Middle East expert, Walid Phares, whose own book on influence operations and lobbying by Iran was widely discredited until the revelations this week only prove its veracity, wrote on X: “The @CrisisGroup has been portrayed as one of the most recognized and praised think tanks worldwide dealing with conflict resolution. But the shocking revelations by @semafor and #IranInternational that its "Iran project" was a base for influence operation by the Iran Regime on the US, shows how wide the reach of Iranian intelligence is in the West, and how "mainstream institutions" were/are penetrated.”
It is a huge blow to the administration, Phares adding: "Trust is crumbling," and claiming that the influence operation in the West and US is not the limits of Iran’s reach, which he says are on both sides of the Atlantic. “It is NATO wide,” he said.
Jason Schmidt, the district attorney overseeing the case, told Iran International that a “very important hearing” has been completed in favor of the prosecutor.
The defense wanted to “suppress certain statements that Mr. Matar made at the time that he was taken into custody by police,” said Schmidt. But the judge upheld the statements that the prosecutor wanted to “keep and introduce as evidence during the trial”.
Matar, 25, stabbed Rushdie in the neck and torso at a literary event in upstate New York last August. The renowned author had an Iranian bounty on his head since 1989, when he published his novel Satanic Verses, enraging many Muslims across the world. They deemed the book as insulting to the Prophet Mohammed.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s supreme leader at the time issued a religious edict that obliged Muslims to kill Rushdi, effectively forcing him to go into hiding. He had just begun relaxing his security measures when the attack happened.
“Matar had traveled from New Jersey,” Schmidt said, “so we do believe this is an attack that was pre-planned.”
Early police investigation suggested that Matar was sympathetic to Iran’s Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guards. On his Facebook, he had photos of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Qassem Soleimani, the IRGC general killed in a US drone strike in 2020.
At the time, Vice quoted European and Middle Eastern intelligence sources who said Matar had been in contact with some elements within the IRGC. The Islamic Republic officials have denied direct involvement but expressed support for the attack.
It’s been suggested also that Matar could have been influenced by the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group during his time in Lebanon.
Commenting on potential links between Matar, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the regime in Iran, district attorney Schmidt said, “there is a concurrent federal investigation… they may be looking at something on an international or national scale… that investigation could go beyond Matar and to third persons or even the Iranian government.”
The officials in Tehran wasted no time in celebrating the attack and extending congratulations to the attacker. It was also announced that he would be given 1,000 square meters of fertile farmland in Iran.
Mohammad Ismail Zarei who heads the organization that was established to implement the original edict and kill Salman Rushdie thanked Matar “for his brave action in carrying out the historic fatwa of Imam Khomeini.”
Matar did not deny his feelings either.
Shortly after his arrest, Matar gave a video interview to the New York Post, in which he praised Khomeini and condemned Rushdie as “someone who attacked Islam. ”But he hasn’t revealed much beyond this.
Schmidt explained: “when the attack occurred and Mr. Matar was taken into custody, there were some efforts to interview him to develop as much information as possible surrounding the attack. But that interview was cut short when Mr. Matar asserted his right to counsel.”
Matar is charged in the State of New York with attempted murder of second degree and assault of second degree (related to injuries sustained by another man present at the scene).
If found guilty, he could face up to 25 years in prison.
