UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Agnes Callamard slammed the Trump regime’s assassination of Iranian General Soleimani, Iraqi Deputy PMU leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and others with them, tweeting the following:

“The targeted killings of Qasem Soleiman and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis are most likely unlawful and violate international human rights law.”

“Outside the context of active hostilities, the use of drones or other means for targeted killing is almost never likely to be legal.”

“Another major problem with extra territorial targeted killings is the lack of oversight.”

“Executives decide who may be killed outside due process, when it acts in self-defense, against whom and how. Without approval of Parliaments.”

Pompeo commented on Soleimani’s assassination with a litany of Big Lies, saying:

The Trump regime “deci(ded) to eliminate Soleimani in response to imminent threats to American lives (sic).

“(O)ur commitment (is) to deescalation (sic).”

Assassinating Soleimani was a “defensive action (to counter)  aggressive threats posed by the Iranian Quds Force (sic).”

He “was actively plotting in the region to take actions…that would have put dozens if not hundreds of American lives at risk (sic).”

All of the above is pure rubbish, believed by no one understanding how the US operates — by its own rules extrajudicially in pursuit of its imperial aims.

Killing Soleimani, Muhandis, and others with them was US cold-blooded murder, an unjustifiable high crime.

The Pentagon unjustifiably justified its criminal act, saying the following:

“At the direction of (Trump), the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by (the) killing(s)” — a bald-faced Big Lie, followed by more lies, falsely claiming:

Soleimani “orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months (sic).”

“This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans (sic).”

“The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world (sic).”

Aggression by the Trump regime and his most recent predecessors transformed hundreds of millions of Muslims into US haters, along with countless others worldwide — making the US the world’s most reviled country.

Throughout Islamic Republic history since 1979, its ruling authorities and military leaders never ordered an attack on another nation or their officials.

Pompeo presented no evidence backing his preposterous accusations because none exists.

Whenever Guterres comments on incidents like Soleimani’s assassination and other hostile US, NATO, and Israeli actions, he always calls on all sides to show restraint — failing to lay blame where it belongs.

After saying nothing for hours after the Trump regime’s state-sponsored aggression against Soleimani and others with him, his spokesman issued his pre-scripted remark, saying:

“The secretary general has consistently advocated for de-escalation in the Gulf (sic). He is deeply concerned with the recent escalation (sic).”

“This is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint (sic). The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf (sic).”

“The world” needs a world body leader with cajones, not a weak-kneed pro-Western puppet — beholden to higher powers in Washington, Brussels and Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called for “(m)eting out just punishment (to Trump regime) criminal assassins,” adding:

It’s “the responsibility and task of all resistance fighters worldwide.”

“We who stayed by (Soleimani’s) side will follow in his footsteps and strive day and night to accomplish his goals.”

“We will carry a flag on all battlefields and all fronts, and we will step up the victories of the ‘axis of resistance’ with the blessing of his pure blood.”

Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned US aggression and assassinations, calling its actions “a serious escalation…(a) cowardly (act) of aggression…strengthen(ing) determination to follow in the path of the resistance’s martyred leaders.”

On Friday, hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets to condemn the Trump regime.

Over the long-term, US policies are self-defeating, its extremism typical of a nation in decline.

The greater its hostile actions globally, the more enemies it makes.

Commenting on Soleimani’s assassination, Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova the following:

The Pentagon’s “missile strike (that killed Soleimani and others was) an act that is out of sync with international law…the height of cynicism” by a rogue state.

Washington’s aim is all about pursuing might over right, seeking to “chang(e) the balance of power in the region.”

“That will not result in anything but escalating tensions in the region, which will be sure to affect millions of people.”

The Trump regime’s action “will not bypass the United Nations,” the Security Council to address it — US/UK/French veto power preventing official condemnation.

Killing Soleimani, deputy head of Iraq’s PMU Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and others with them more greatly destabilized the region.

Their assassinations had nothing to do with protecting US lives, everything to do with advancing its imperium.

It was a foolhardy self-defeating act that backfired, accomplishing nothing but greater popular anger against the US.

It also pressures Iraqi MPs to pass legislation that orders US forces out of the country, what may be coming ahead.

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Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.