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'You’re Not a Dictator': US House Committee Slams Trump, Seeks to Curb Iran Warmongering

Tensions between the United States and Iran have risen sharply, with a further escalation after attacks on US military bases in Iraq by Iranian-backed militias, the storming of the US embassy in Iraq and the assassination of Iran's top military commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad by a US airstrike.
Sputnik

US President Donald Trump used his public Twitter account to 'notify' Congress that Washington would strike Tehran, in what the president described as a potentially "disproportionate" manner, should Iran attack any US citizen or target any US assets, military or otherwise, as an act of revenge for killing Soleimani.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee lashed out at Trump, slamming his language and reminding the US president that only the US Congress has the authority to authorize acts of war.

​Trump authorized the airstrike - without alerting Congress - that killed top Iranian military figure Qasem Soleimani, justifying the action by alleging plots by the Iranian general to sabotage American assets abroad.

Trump's order was unexpected and has deeply stirred the American political establishment, sparking fears of full-scale war in the Middle East.

Trump Doubles Down on Iran Warning, Says US to Strike Back 'Perhaps in a Disproportionate Manner'
Most ranking US lawmakers expressed grave concerns that Trump's move endangers the nation's security; domestic and overseas. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a revised security bulletin, however, promising that there are currently no actionable threats from Iran against US citizens.

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said that Trump's notice of the recent airstrike raised serious questions, primarily as it was classified. Pelosi slammed Trump and his administration for its "provocative, escalatory and disproportionate military engagement".

Pelosi warned that the assassination of Soleimani will lead to an outbreak of violence in the Middle East and elsewhere. The House Speaker urged the administration to explain to lawmakers why the US military presence in the region is being rapidly increased.

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