Pentagon braces for Iranian response to Trump withdrawal from deal
The US president’s decision to reimpose sanctions is sparking concerns that Tehran could retaliate against US assets and allies.
President Donald Trump’s announcement today that he is pulling out of the nuclear deal with Iran is sparking concerns that Tehran could retaliate against US troops and allies in the Middle East.
As the White House prepares to reimpose sanctions lifted under the agreement, experts fear Iran could draw upon the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or proxy militias such as Hezbollah to target US forces in places such as Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. Israel and US Gulf allies, which have long lobbied against the deal and applauded today’s decision, may also be at risk.
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 27.0px Helvetica; color: #14171a; -webkit-text-stroke: #14171a} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} "I sure as hell hope that the Trump [National Security Council] has a [government]-wide plan in place to deal with potential Iranian dialing up the heat in the region," tweeted Kelly Magsamen, formerly the Iran director at the National Security Council under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. "Huge risk to our allies and forces."
Melissa Dalton, a former Pentagon official and now senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed.
