Carney reiterated that “international law is binding on all participants in war.” He did express his “regret” that international efforts had not led to Iran’s disarmament. At the same time, he said that “the United States and Israel acted without involving the United Nations or consulting with their allies, including Canada.”
According to a high-ranking US admiral, Iran has so far fired more than 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones in retaliatory attacks. The military initially did not provide any further details.
US President Donald Trump spoke by telephone with Kurdish leaders in Iraq and discussed further steps in the war against Iran. Trump has contacted the leader of the Kurdish PUK party in Iraq, Bafil Talabani, the party announced today. Trump informed Talabani about his further plans for war with Iran. There was initially no confirmation from the US government.
US media reported that Trump also spoke with Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani a day after the US-Israeli attacks began in Iran. Trump should therefore consider supporting the Iraqi Kurds in a fight against the Iranian leadership, reported the Wall Street Journal, citing US government officials. The Iraqi Kurds have numerous fighters stationed on the border with neighboring Iran and also have ties to Iran’s Kurdish minority.
If the government in Iran were to fall, the Kurds could potentially gain more rights there too. But it is unclear what contribution they will actually make in the fight and what promises they could demand from the US government in return. The Kurdish militias were already an important ally of the USA in the fight against the terrorist militia Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli airstrike – and not by US forces, according to the US Department of Defense. “These are Israeli operations,” said Pentagon Secretary Elbridge Colby on Tuesday before the US Senate Armed Services Committee, referring to the killing of Khamenei and other members of the Iranian leadership.
Colby emphasized that the US is concerned with Iran’s military threat potential in its air strikes. This includes, among other things, Iranian missiles and the Iranian navy. These are “reasonable goals that can be achieved”. The Secretary of State was asked by the senators whether a change of power in Iran was the goal of the US air strikes.
