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US Ambassador to UN: Soleimani killing was act of self-defense

Craft said the assassination was self-defense and “in response to an escalating series of armed attacks in recent months by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

By World Israel News Staff

On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council calling the decision by the Trump administration to assassinate Iran’s military commander Qassem Soleimani an act of self-defense.

Reuters reports that the letter states that the assassination was justified under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which states that any country that wishes to exercise its right of self-defense must immediately report to the U.N. Security Council.

According to Craft, Soleimani’s death and the U.S airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia group in Iraq and Syria on Dec. 29 were “in response to an escalating series of armed attacks in recent months by the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iran-supported militias on U.S. forces and interests in the Middle East.”

Craft also said that the U.S. is ready to negotiate with Iran in order to prevent further endangerment of international peace and security by the Iranian regime.

“The United States is prepared to take additional actions in the region as necessary to continue to protect U.S. personnel and interests,” she said.

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Iran also justified its retaliatory strike missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops as an act of self-defense under Article 51.

According to letter sent  to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday by IranianAmbassador Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran acted out of self-defense by taking a “measured and proportionate military response targeting an American airbase in Iraq.”

“The operation was precise and targeted military objectives, thus leaving no collateral damage to civilians and civilian assets in the area,” Ravanchi wrote.

“Seriously warning about any further military adventurism against it, Iran declares that it is determined to continue, vigorously and in accordance with applicable international law, to defend its people, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity against any aggression,” he added.