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- Sunday, 03 December 2017 21:18
The director of the CIA says he sent a letter to an Iranian
general warning him that Washington will hold Tehran responsible for any
attacks on U.S. interests by Iran-backed forces in Iraq.
Director Mike Pompeo on December 2 told a defense forum in Simi
Valley, California, that the letter to Qassem Soleimani commander of
Iran regime’s terrorist Quds force was never opened but that he wanted
to send it because Soleimani had indicated his forces might threaten
U.S. interests in Iraq.
"I sent a note. I sent it because he had indicated that forces under
his control might in fact threaten U.S. interests in Iraq," Pompeo said.
"He refused to open the letter -- didn't break my heart to be honest
with you."
Soleimani is commander of the Quds Force, which carries out foreign
operations for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Pompeo, an opponent of the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord, told the
defense forum that Tehran remains in technical compliance with the
agreement, which provided Iran with relief from sanctions in exchange
for reining in its nuclear program.
U.S. forces are supporting the Iraqi government in its fight against Islamic State (IS) and other militant groups.
'Time for Militias to Go'
Iran-backed militias and IRGC forces are also supporting the Iraqi
government, although the United States, France, and other allies have
called for Baghdad to dismantle the militias.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on October 22 said it was time
for Iranian military advisers and fighters "to go home and allow the
Iraqi people to regain control."
"Iranian militias that are in Iraq, now that the fight against
[Islamic State] is coming to a close, those militias need to go home,"
Tillerson said.
A senior U.S. official said Tillerson’s remarks referred to militia
fighters known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and the Quds
Force.
With reporting by AP, Rudaw, and IFP News
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