In any case, Mr. Leitner went back to the Foreign Ministry at day’s end for the Iranian response. After the Arab Spring and war with the Islamic State,  he had emerged as the public figure most associated with Iran’s goal of achieving regional dominance. “There was a state of mobilization to get ready in case that was the first stage in a wider plan,” said Mohammed Obeid, a Lebanese political activist with ties to Iran’s “resistance axis” in the region. The Marines received little information about their mission or what was happening on the ground as they loaded their magazines with ammunition. “Every time we got close, they said, ‘Well, we can’t discuss that here because it’s sensitive.’”. Reportedly, following the Baghdad strike, U.S. intelligence agencies detected … “Suleimani as a person inspired the masses, he was a national icon, he symbolized the struggle,” said Ali Alfoneh, a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington who studies Iran. Mr. Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran has been a major point of contention. But when the Marines reached Baghdad, none had to open fire. Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office, via Associated Press. General Milley said the evidence could not be clearer and was the “best intelligence” he had seen during his career. The most important European country in these seven days, it turned out, was Switzerland, which has served as the intermediary between the United States and Iran since they broke off diplomatic relations in 1980. Despite his hawkish approach to Iran, he has been recently accepting offers from Pakistanis, Omanis, Iraqis and others to mediate. But the struggle between two nations is not really over. President Trump on Wednesday, when he addressed the nation. Peter Baker and Julian E. Barnes reported from Washington, Ronen Bergman from Tel Aviv, David D. Kirkpatrick from London, and Alissa J. Rubin from Baghdad. Kataib Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia group held responsible, had fired at least five other rocket attacks on bases with Americans in the previous month without deadly results. Construction works are still ongoing at an alleged Iranian missile base located near the eastern Syrian town of al-Bukamal near the Iraqi border, a satellite image posted by Twitter account Aurora Intel on January 10 confirms.. A report by Fox News in 2019 claimed the base, which became known as the “Imam … Mr. Trump suggested he was still open to diplomacy. Last week, he described General Suleimani as the “No. We did not take action to start a war. Ms. Haspel, the director, was shown intelligence indicating that General Suleimani was preparing to move from Syria to Iraq. And through the Swiss came another message: That was it. All the Iranians had to do was come to him and they could make a deal, Mr. Trump said, according to a senior French official. He hoped to install a new anti-American government that might even throw out United States forces. Here’s how the situation developed over the last two weeks. But administration officials said they did not actually know when or where such an attack might occur and one State Department official said it was “a mistake” to use the word “imminent.” And some senior military commanders were stunned that Mr. Trump picked what they considered a radical option with unforeseen consequences. Sanctions on the country have significantly damaged its economy. “We never got to the details,” he said. The barrage ended after an hour but base commanders ordered troops to remain in shelter in case more missiles came. Top vampire movies to watch on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+ & other Streaming services, out on DVD/Blu-ray or in cinema's right now. New Yorker writers reflect on the year’s highs and lows. “If there is a plan, we are down with it. Vice President Mike Pence and Mr. O’Brien immediately headed to the Situation Room in the basement, joined later by the president and Mr. Pompeo. He got back a terse, though polite, message. An American was dead and the president who had called off a retaliatory strike with 10 minutes to go in June and otherwise refrained from military action in response to Iranian provocations now faced a choice. Shops in Tajrish Square in Tehran. Just after 5:30 p.m., an almost robotic voice came over a speakerphone in the Situation Room. LINK. Donate. “Let’s stay calm,” he said. Another name on the list: General Suleimani. He went on to offer support for the United States “and to its full right to defend itself and its citizens.”. Reporting was contributed by Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Lara Jakes, Mark Mazzetti, David E. Sanger, Eric Schmitt, Michael D. Shear, Noah Weiland and Edward Wong from Washington; Farnaz Fassihi and Maggie Haberman from New York; Rukmini Callimachi from Balchik, Bulgaria, and Bucharest, Romania; Adam Nossiter and Constant Méheut from Paris; Steven Erlanger from Brussels; Katrin Bennhold from Berlin; Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva; David M. Halbfinger and Isabel Kershner from Jerusalem; Ben Hubbard and Hwaida Saad from Beirut; and Falih Hassan from Baghdad. Still, watching television in Florida, Mr. Trump grew agitated by the chaos and ready to authorize a more robust response. Instead, officials said, C.I.A. President Emmanuel Macron of France played an active role, reaching out to both sides. 2020 in Review. A Saudi official said he was unaware of any message carried by General Suleimani and some analysts doubted Mr. Abdul Mahdi’s account. In capitals from Europe to the Middle East, leaders and diplomats sought to head off a full-fledged new war while at the White House and Pentagon, the president and his advisers ordered more troops to the region. List of the latest Israeli TV series in 2021 on tv and the best Israeli TV series of 2020 & the 2010's. As the head of the elite Quds Force, General Suleimani was effectively the second-most powerful man in Iran and had a hand in managing proxy wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, including a campaign of roadside bombs and other attacks that killed an estimated 600 American troops during the height of the Iraq war. In the House briefing, Mr. Pompeo offered a brief introduction followed by presentations by Ms. Haspel, Mr. Esper, General Milley and Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence. So the Europeans focused on keeping Tehran from overreacting. This account, based on interviews with dozens of Trump administration officials, military officers, diplomats, intelligence analysts and others in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, offers new details about what may be the most consequential seven days of the Trump presidency. The French and Japanese both offered to serve as mediators, but that only annoyed Mr. Trump, who dislikes middlemen. The center sent the warning to the White House. 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Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler was so alarmed he dispatched his brother to Washington for a clandestine meeting with Mr. Trump. Now, he immediately dispatched his younger brother, Prince Khalid bin Salman, the deputy defense minister, on an emergency mission to the White House. But we caught him in the act. LONDON—Iran has circumvented U.S. sanctions and exported more oil to China and other countries in recent months, providing a lifeline for its struggling economy and undermining the Trump administration’s so-called maximum pressure campaign against Tehran. General Suleimani was hardly a household name in the United States, but as far as American officials were concerned, he was responsible for more instability and death in the Middle East than almost anyone. General Suleimani had long played a role as power broker in Iraqi politics, and two Iraqi politicians with links to Iran said he was coming to Baghdad to help break an impasse over replacing the prime minister after the collapse of the government in November in the face of anti-Iran protests. While Mr. Trump tipped off another hawk, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who was visiting in Florida, his administration gave no advance warning to its European allies or Persian Gulf partners in advance of the strike. Whether you heard all about a TV series and weren’t able to watch it. We took action last night to stop a war. Petro-Logistics saw an increase in exports to about 447,000 barrels a day, from 222,000. A gathering in Baghdad to honor Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who had helped found Kataib Hezbollah, the militia held responsible for the rocket attack on Dec. 27 that killed an American contractor. On holiday at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort, the president agreed to strikes on five sites in Iraq and Syria two days later, killing at least 25 members of Kataib Hezbollah and injuring at least 50 more. The scale of Iran’s petroleum sales is difficult to gauge, given their often covert nature. Although three promising comets - 2I/Borisov, C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), and C/2020 F8 (SWAN) - have already disintegrated this year, observers can hope for a positive outcome for another bright comet - NEOWISE (C/2020 F3). That was their retribution. Indeed, she predicted the most likely response would be an ineffectual missile strike from Iran on Iraqi bases where American troops were stationed. European leaders, incensed at being kept in the dark, scrambled to keep Iran from escalating. A number of militias General Suleimani had helped foster were receiving salaries from the Iraqi government and exerting power in Iraq’s political system. All three offered vague but emphatic assertions of intelligence indicating an imminent threat by General Suleimani. Ms. Merkel laughed. Mr. Trump planned to play golf the next morning, Jan. 4, but advisers concluded it would send the wrong message as General Suleimani’s death stirred unrest around the Middle East and raised the prospect of a wider conflict with Iran. Mr. Pompeo responded that the situation was now more stable. But another Iranian commander escaped. But the sharp increase seen across the three market trackers suggests Tehran has been more successful recently in selling its oil. As Le Monde, the French newspaper, put it, the rift signaled “a new stage in the trans-Atlantic divorce over the Middle East.”. official who retired last year. Various alternatives were discussed, some in Syria, some in Iraq. “This camp believes that there will be such a clash anyway and the best timing is before the U.S. elections — and that Israel may lose this president in the White House,” said Ofer Zalzberg, an analyst at the International Crisis Group. Then, just before the plane door closed, a convoy of cars pulled up on the tarmac carrying Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Iran’s security mastermind, who climbed on board along with two escorts. Outside the Baghdad airport where General Suleimani was killed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had spoken with Mr. Pompeo before the attack and seemed to hint at something hours before the strike. While others worried about reprisals, she reassured colleagues that Iran’s response would be measured. And share the experience with other members of the family! The hours ticked by and some involved in the operation wondered if it should be called off. The ship had been an irritant to Americans for months, especially after a series of covert attacks on oil tankers. But that did not matter to Mr. Trump and his team. Prince Khalid was pleased by whatever Mr. Trump told him, telling diplomats afterward that the royal family was glad the president had dealt Iran a serious blow — and relieved that he did not seem inclined to escalate further. Mr. Macron reached Mr. Trump on Sunday and emphasized the need for de-escalation. When Mr. Pompeo phoned his European counterparts after the strike, they expressed concern. Mr. Trump was largely alone on the world stage. Around 7:30, about an hour after the strikes concluded, Mr. Esper and General Milley headed to the White House to meet with Mr. Trump. American intelligence officials monitoring communications between Kataib Hezbollah and General Suleimani's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps learned that the Iranians wanted to keep the pressure on the Americans but had not intended to escalate the low-level conflict. A senior German diplomat sent a text message to his Iranian counterpart urging calm. Flight 6Q501 lifted off, three hours late, bound for the Iraqi capital. The missiles were staggered but most were streaking toward Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, home to 2,000 American troops. One of the bases that Iran targeted this week, Al Asad Air Base, has long been a hub for American military operations in western Iraq. To reestablish deterrence, he should authorize a tough response. In an interview broadcast on Friday, Mr. Trump told her that the threat had been to four American embassies, even as other officials said privately that they did not have concrete evidence of General Suleimani’s targets. In a 15-minute call, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas of Germany said the killing had not made it any easier to stabilize the region. A billboard in Tehran depicting General Suleimani, left, and an Iraqi official in charge of militias and close to Iran, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also killed in the drone strike. The plane landed at Baghdad International Airport just after midnight, at 12:36 a.m., and the first to disembark were General Suleimani and his entourage. The next morning Mr. Trump addressed the nation from the White House, and while he excoriated Iran’s “campaign of terror,” he made clear he would not retaliate further.
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