Pompeo responds to John Kerry on Iran: 'It's a fantasy to think that the nuclear deal was good for the United States'

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo fired back at one of his predecessors in an exclusive interview with Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" Thursday, saying that John Kerry was indulging in a "fantasy" by claiming that Iran had reined in its destabilizing behavior after signing the 2015 nuclear deal.
"It’s a fantasy to think that the nuclear deal was good for the United States of America, protecting the American people," Pompeo told Laura Ingraham. "There were terror campaigns, there were missile systems that were enhanced, improved during the [period of the] JCPOA [nuclear deal] -- the money that the Iranian regime was permitted to have underwrote the very Shia militias that were the ones that took on and ultimately killed an American."
Kerry told MSNBC Wednesday night that there is "no way at all" the world is safer after Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad's airport last week. The former senator from Massachusetts and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee also claimed that Trump was "fixated on undoing anything Barack Obama did ... [and] willing to run the risk of outright war in the effort to fulfill his fantasy."
"This isn’t about undoing what Obama did," Pompeo told Ingraham Thursday. "This is about protecting and defending the American people. President Trump has been incredibly resolute in that."
During an address to the nation on Wednesday, hours after Iran fired 16 missiles at two Iraqi airbases housing American servicemembers in response to Soleimani's death, Trump claimed: "The missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration." Pompeo doubled down on that claim, emphasizing that money paid to Iran by the Obama administration "ultimately ends up in the hands of people who wanted to do Americans harm."
In September 2016, the Treasury Department acknowledged that $1.7 billion was transferred from the U.S. to Iran in foreign hard currency. An initial $400 million delivery was sent to Tehran Jan. 17, the same day Iran agreed to release four American prisoners. The remaining $1.3 billion was paid in subsequent weeks. The $1.7 billion was the settlement of a 37-year-old dispute between the U.S. and Iran over a $400 million payment made by the last Shah of Iran. In addition to those payments by the U.S., billions of dollars in Iranian assets held in financial institutions overseas were unfrozen as part of the nuclear deal.
"All the things that we are now confronting are a direct result of the resources that the regime had available as a result of that terrible nuclear deal," Pompeo said.
Pompeo also responded to criticism of a classified briefing to lawmakers Wednesday that was meant to explain the rationale behind the Soleimani strike. Democrats have said they do not believe the intelligence shown in the briefing proved that Soleimani represented an immediate threat to U.S. interests, while Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, called the briefing "lame" and "insane," describing it as the worst he had sat through in his time on Capitol Hill.
"I thought we did a dynamite job," said Pompeo, who took part in the briefing. "I mean that in the truest sense, but we did our level best to present them with all the facts that we could in that setting." The secretary of state also insisted that Soleimani was planning "a series of imminent attacks" when he was killed.
"We don’t know precisely when -- and we don’t know precisely where," Pompeo said. "But it was real ... There was a real opportunity here and there was a real necessity here. We made the right decision. The president made the right call."
When Ingraham asked whether the administration could trust Congress with classified information, Pompeo said: "Well, we shared an awful lot with them yesterday ... I think there are a number of people who are using this as a political ax to grind. I think that’s most unfortunate."
Pompeo also responded to the apparent downing of a Ukrainian International Airlines plane by Iran early Wednesday that killed all 176 people on board. U.S., Canadian and British officials said earlier Thursday it is "highly likely" that the jet was struck by an Iranian missile.
"I’ve seen the reporting. I can only say that we need to get to the bottom of this very, very quickly," said Pompeo, who added that while a mechanical failure could have caused the crash, "if, in fact, it’s the case that there was something more insidious to this, the American people should know that this would have been Iranian malfeasance that caused it."

Iran Oil Cartoons

Global stocks, oil prices rebound as Iran anxiety eases

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and oil prices rebounded Thursday as anxiety over potential U.S.-Iranian conflict eased.

London and Frankfurt opened higher and Tokyo gained more than 2%. Shanghai and Hong Kong also advanced.

Markets sank Wednesday after Tehran launched missiles at bases housing Americans in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of an Iranian general. Anxiety subsided after reports indicated no Americans were killed and President Donald Trump said Iran “appears to be standing down.”

The lack of casualties “gave the markets more confidence that the Iranians had instigated little more than the intention to make a public show of force mainly to save face at home,” said Stephen Innes of AxiTrader in a report.

In early trading, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to 7,609.67 and Frankfurt’s DAX rose 1.5% to 13,520.35. France’s CAC 40 added 0.6% to 6,068.31.

On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up nearly 0.4%.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% while the Dow advanced 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.7% to a record.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 powered ahead 2.3% to 23,739.87 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.7% to 28,561.00. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.9% to 3,094.88.

Seoul’s Kospi rose 1.6% to 2,186.45 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 added 0.8% to 6,874.20. India’s Sensex rose 1.4% to 41,409.69.

Taiwan and Southeast Asian markets also advanced while New Zealand declined.

Trump said he would add economic sanctions on Iran but the United States is “ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.”

Oil prices rebounded Thursday after first surging on news of the Iranian attack and then falling back once tensions appeared to be easing.

Benchmark U.S. crude gained 43 cents to $60.05 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract fell $3.09 to settle at $59.61. It traded as high as $65.65 following the missile attack.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 52 cents to $65.96 per barrel in London. It fell $2.83 the previous session to $65.44.

Gold had a similar whipsaw day. It climbed as high as $1,604.20 per ounce before settling at $1,560.10.

Also Thursday, China reported consumer prices rose 4.5% in December over a year earlier, propelled by surging pork prices due to an outbreak of disease.

In currency trading, the dollar gained to 109.34 yen from Wednesday’s 109.08 yen. The euro advanced to $1.1120 from $1.1105.

Omar claim of PTSD 'offensive' to US veterans, Indiana congressman says; Squad member responds

An Indiana congressman who served in Afghanistan as a member of the Navy Reserve spoke out on behalf of America's military veterans Wednesday after U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., claimed she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican, said Omar's comments were a "disgrace," calling the remarks "offensive to our nation's veterans who really do have PTSD after putting their life on the line to keep America safe."
Omar had made her remarks during a news conference with other Democrats on Wednesday, at which she said she "felt ill" because of "everything that is taking place" in the Middle East -- a reference to the recent U.S. tensions between the U.S. and Iran, including last week's U.S. airstrike in Baghdad and Iran's missile attacks early Wednesday against airbases in Iraq where U.S. service members are stationed.
"And I think every time I hear about ... I hear of conversations around war, I find myself being stricken with PTSD," she said. "And I find peace knowing that I serve with great advocates for peace and people who have shown courage against war."
After Banks took issue with her comments, Omar posted a reply on Twitter, making reference to her youth in war-torn Somalia. After leaving her homeland with her family near the start of the Somali Civil War in 1991, she would spend four years at a Kenyan refugee camp before immigrating to the U.S. in 1995.
"Hi Jim, I survived war as a child and deal with post-traumatic stress disorder—much like many who have served or lived through war," she wrote in the tweet, which was addressed to Banks but not tagged. "It’s shameful that you as a member of Congress would erase the PTSD of survivors."
But Banks doubled down on his comments later Wednesday evening, posting a video that showed Omar and other Democrats giggling in the background as their colleague, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, spoke to reporters about the more than 4,000 U.S. service members killed in Iraq over the years.
"Your words and actions at today’s press conference reveal your feelings toward our soldiers serving abroad and the video speaks for itself," Banks wrote, including a video of the news conference shared by Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga.
Omar posted another message about a half-hour later, elaborating that she had "lived in a war zone" and had "seen what conflict does to families and communities.""If you aren't familiar with Banks, he's been with the Navy since 2012," one Twitter user wrote, "and was deployed to Afghanistan about 6 years ago. So he knows a little something about PTSD."

Warren, Sanders join conference call with lobby group linked to Tehran -- sparking backlash

Democratic presidential hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders faced criticism online Wednesday for participating in a conference call with an Iranian-American advocacy group just a day after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack in Iraq aimed at U.S. military personnel.
The group was the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), which critics claim lobbies in Washington on behalf of the Iranian government.
The “#NoWarWithIran Strategy Call,” hosted by MoveOn.org, another advocacy group and political action committee first organized in 1998 in response to former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, also included commentary from Jamal Abdi, president of NIAC. U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna, both California Democrats, and others also participated.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, called Warren and Sanders “disgraceful” for participating in the call with “pro-Iran group NIAC the day after Iran bombed our military bases.”
“Whose side are the Democrat frontrunners actually on?” he asked.
“How is this conference call with Sanders/Warren/ pro-Iran lobby group NIAC, with ties to Tehran & Iranian govt (who just bombed our military bases) different than the claims they made against Trump??” another user asked. “Are they conspiring with the enemy to overthrow our govt?? Start impeachment?”
"Willingness to engage with NIAC - the Khomeini lobby in DC - should be automatic disqualification for any candidate," another user wrote.
NIAC has been accused by other members of the Iranian-American community of working as part of a U.S.-based pro-Islamic jihad alliance. A former CIA officer alleged in a 2009 brief that NIAC was actively working to influence Democrats -- in Congress and the Obama administration -- to push a foreign policy that would benefit Tehran’s cleric regime. A federal judge ordered NIAC to pay more than $180,000 in 2013 after its failed defamation lawsuit against Iranian-American writer Hassan Daioleslam, who published pieces showing NIAC's links to the regime, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the work of NIAC’s founder, Trita Parsi, was "not inconsistent with the idea that he was first and foremost an advocate for the regime." Parsi lobbied Congress and met with Obama administration officials before the signing of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Documents uncovered during the defamation lawsuit also showed correspondence between NIAC and Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The group, meanwhile, insists it works independently from the Iranian government. According to its official website, NIAC is a “nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the voice of Iranian Americans and promoting greater understanding between the American and Iranian people.”
On the call, Warren, D-Mass., and Sanders, an independent from Vermont, both slammed President Trump for what was described as his “march to war” with Iran that they claim first began in May 2018 when he announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal with world powers.
Trump had signed a presidential memorandum withdrawing the U.S. from the controversial agreement signed by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama. He said he will be re-instituting the highest level of sanctions and warned other countries against helping the Iranian government. The deal had allowed the Iranian regime to garner up to $150 billion in cash – most of which was used to fund state-run terrorist operations, the Free Beacon reported.
The conference call came after Wednesday morning's firing of as many as 15 ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops in a major retaliation by the rogue regime after the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport last week.
Iranian efforts to killed American service members were thwarted by the military's Early Warning Systems, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Wednesday. No U.S. casualties were reported.
“There seems to be a pause in the hostilities for now, and I hope it endures but let’s be clear – this is a crisis of Donald Trump’s making,” Warren told those who dialed in Wednesday night. “The first job of the president of the United States is to keep America safe, but this president’s reckless actions have made us far less safe.
“He started this back in 2018 when he tore up the Iran nuclear deal. Iran had agreed not to advance its nuclear program, and the international community had already certified that Iran was following the terms of the deal. Our allies wanted to stay in it but not Donald Trump.
“Instead he decided just to tear it up,” she said.
Warren also accused Trump of “tweeting threats of war crimes” when he threatened attacks on Iranian cultural sites, which she said was “not in America’s favor and it is wrong.” Trump had subsequently said he would take no action that violated international law.
Speaking later on in the hour-long call, Sanders accused Trump of telling “the same old lies” told by the Bush administration in 2002-03 that he said lead to the deaths of 4,500 “brave American soldiers,” the death of “hundreds of thousands of Iraqis” and veterans suffering from PTSD still today.
“When I think back in my lifetime to the disastrous wars, the unnecessary wars that have taken place. I think back to Vietnam where people I knew got killed, where my generation suffered so terribly – 59,000 dead, God knows how many wounded. People still sleeping out on the streets today from that war,” Sanders also said, recounting his personal history of America fighting in foreign wars oversees.
“I think the lesson is that war should be avoided in every way that we can. War is the last response, not the first response,” he continued.  “I will do everything I can to prevent this war.”
“I’ll be working to make sure that we pass a War Powers Act that makes it clear that the Constitution says that it is the Congress – not the president – who determines whether this country goes to war. And that I’m afraid Congress has forgotten about that under Republican and Democratic administrations. And we’re going to do everything we can to pass that resolution.
Sanders closed out his remarks referencing health care, climate change and homelessness – issues that he said were more deserving of U.S. investment than a potential war with Iran.
MoveOn used the call to promote #NoWarWithIran rallies to be held Thursday across the U.S. in an effort to show public opposition against war with Iran. Both Warren and Sanders urged listeners to attend their nearest event. Move On said more than 7,000 people dialed into the call. More than 70,000 also listened to the call on Facebook Live.

Feinstein, Manchin join Democrats pressuring Pelosi to send impeachment articles to Senate

More Democrats are urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to send the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate so a trial can get underway.
Those joining the list include Sen. Dianne Feinstein from Pelosi's home state of California, as well as Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and independent Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats.
“The longer it goes on the less urgent it becomes,” Feinstein told Politico about Pelosi's withholding of the articles approved last month, charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. “So if it’s serious and urgent, send them over. If it isn’t, don’t send it over.”
Manchin agreed with Feinstein that the House “should move on” and deliver the articles to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
"It is time," King said Tuesday, according to NBC News.
Pelosi has been holding on to the articles since December in an effort to get McConnell, R-Ky., to agree to certain conditions for a trial, such as allowing witnesses to testify.
“We need to get folks to testify and we need more information ... but nonetheless, I’m ready,” Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said, according to Politico. “I don’t know what leverage we have. It looks like the cake is already baked.”

​​​​​​​Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is seen in her Capitol Hill office in Washington, Feb. 11, 2015. (Associated Press)

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., also said it was time.
“We are reaching a point where the articles of impeachment should be sent,” Blumenthal told reporters.
Former national security adviser John Bolton on Monday said he would be willing to testify in a Senate trial if he was subpoenaed and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said he wants to hear from him.
Still, McConnell said Tuesday he has the votes to move forward with a trial without any witnesses.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has also left open the possibility that Bolton could appear before the House if the Senate doesn't call him.
Pelosi said she plans to hold on to the impeachment articles until she learns about how the Senate trial will proceed.
Fox News' Marisa Schultz contributed to this report. 

Nancy Pelosi Cartoons

High-stakes decision looms for Trump in showdown with Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump faces one of the greatest tests of his presidency after Iran launched ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. It was Iran’s most brazen direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

The strikes pushed Tehran and Washington perilously close to war, and put the world’s attention on Trump as he weighs whether to respond with more military force. The president huddled with his national security advisers on Tuesday night, but offered no immediate indication of whether he would retaliate. He said in a tweet that “All is well!” and announced plans to address the nation on Wednesday morning.

The Iranian strikes came days after Trump authorized the targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force. Iran had pledged to retaliate, though its actions did not appear to result in any American casualties, according to a U.S. official. The missiles targeted two bases — one in the northern Iraqi city in Irbil and the other at Ain al-Asad in western Iraq.

A lack of U.S. casualties could give Trump an opening to de-escalate the mounting tensions with Iran and pull the nation back from the brink of war. Trump, who is facing reelection at the end of the year, campaigned for president on a promise to keep the United States from engaging in “endless war.”

Still, Trump’s rhetoric in recent days has been menacing. Just hours before Tuesday’s missile strikes, the president told reporters in the Oval Office: “If Iran does anything that they shouldn’t be doing, they’re going to be suffering the consequences, and very strongly.”

Democrats called on Trump avoid a military escalation with Iran.

Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the administration needs to quickly “extricate us from what could lead into a full-fledged war with terrible casualties.” Engel said he feared the situation ”spirals out of control.”

The fallout for Trump’s order to kill Soleimani has been swift.

Iran announced that it would no longer be bound by the 2015 nuclear agreement and vowed to retaliate against the U.S., its allies and American interests. Iraq’s parliament also voted to expel U.S. troops from Iraq, which would undermine efforts to fight Islamic State militants in the region and strengthen Iran’s influence in the Mideast.

The counterattack by Iran came as Trump and his top advisers were under pressure to disclose more details about the intelligence that led to the American strike that killed Soleimani.

Trump said Tuesday that his decision saved American lives and that members of Congress would get a briefing on the reasons for the U.S. attack.

“They were planning something,” he said of the Iranians.

So far, Trump and top national security officials have justified the airstrike with general statements about the threat posted by Soleimani, who commanded proxy forces outside Iran and was responsible for the deaths of American troops in Iraq.

But the details have been scarce.

“He’s no longer a monster. He’s dead,” Trump said. “And that’s a good thing for a lot of countries. He was planning a very big attack and a very bad attack for us and other people and we stopped him and I don’t think anybody can complain about it.”

Soleimani was targeted while he was at an airport in Baghdad with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a veteran Iraqi militant who also was killed.

Trump said they weren’t in Baghdad to discuss vacation plans or visit a “nice resort,” but were there to talk over “bad business.”

The lack of detail didn’t sit well with Democrats, who recall how President George W. Bush justified his invasion of Iraq by accusing Saddam Hussein of having what turned out to be non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Lawmakers in recent days have been pressing for more details about why Trump ordered the killing — a decision that previous administrations passed up because of fears it would unleash even more violence.

Soleimani traveled often and relatively openly, with visits to Baghdad more frequent in recent months. He also often showed up in Syria, including along the border between Iraq and Syria.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, have called on Trump to declassify the written notification he sent to Congress after the strike. The notification was required under the War Powers Resolution Act of 1973, which requires the president to report to Congress when American forces are sent into hostile situations.

“The president must come to Congress and present clear and compelling intelligence as to why the strike against Soleimani was absolutely necessary,” Menendez said in a speech on the Senate floor. “In the wake of all its misleading statements we must make clear to the administration that the president by himself does not have the authority to launch a war against Iran.”

Trump stressed that the strike was in retaliation for Iranian attacks and that the U.S. is prepared to attack again — “very strongly.” He also said that while he eventually wants to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq, now is not the time because it would allow Iran to gain a bigger foothold there.

Trump’s top national security officials made several public appearances on Tuesday to further defend the strike.

“We had deep intelligence indicating there was active plotting to put American lives at risk,” and Iraqi lives too, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Asked if the threat was imminent in days or weeks, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said: “I think it’s more fair to say days, for sure.”

Esper said the intelligence was precise — “razor thin.” He said top Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate plus the chairmen and vice chairmen of the intelligence committees in both chambers were getting a classified briefing Tuesday afternoon on what led to the decision to kill Soleimani. He said other lawmakers will be provided general details about the attack.

He said Soleimani was in Baghdad to coordinate additional attacks against the U.S. “To somehow suggest that he wasn’t a legitimate target, I think, is fanciful,” Esper said.

Democratic lawmakers were not yet convinced it was the right decision.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called the U.S. strike on Soleimani a mistake and said, “I have yet to see how killing this man will prevent Iran from posing an even greater threat against the United States and our interests.”

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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.