Wyoming U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney Praises Killing of Iran Military Leader

Wyoming Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney applauded President Donald Trump's decision to order an air strike in Iraq that killed a top Iranian general, according to a Tweet she sent Friday.

"Qassem Soleimani was an evil and deadly terrorist with the blood of thousands, including hundreds of Americans, on his hands. @realDonaldTrump was right to order decisive action to kill Soleimani to prevent further attacks and defend American lives and interests."

Trump ordered the air strike near Baghdad’s airport on Thursday that killed Soleimani, who had been the architect of its interventions across the Middle East.

The U.S. announced Friday it was sending nearly 3,000 Army troops to the region as tensions soared in the wake of the targeted killing and urged Americans to immediately leave Iraq due to the increased tensions.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that “harsh retaliation is waiting” for the U.S. after the airstrike, calling Soleimani the “international face of resistance.” Khamenei declared three days of public mourning and appointed Maj. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, Soleimani’s deputy, to replace him as head of the Quds Force.

The targeted strike, and any retaliation by Iran, could ignite a conflict that engulfs the whole region, endangering U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and beyond. Over the last two decades, Soleimani had assembled a network of heavily armed allies stretching all the way to southern Lebanon, on Israel’s doorstep.

The killing marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Iran, which has careened from one crisis to another since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and imposed crippling sanctions.

Cheney supported Trump's decision about the nuclear deal:

“I strongly support President Trump’s courageous decision to withdraw from the dangerous Iranian nuclear deal. Rather than prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon, the Obama Iran deal paved the way for such a weapon. It failed to include anywhere/anytime inspections. It failed to allow any inspections of Iranian military facilities. It failed to include a complete declaration of Iran’s past nuclear activities. It allowed Iran to continue to enrich uranium. It allowed Iran to continue its ballistic missile program. The deal was one of the most dangerous agreements the United States has ever entered into and President Trump was right to withdraw and announce the reimposition of sanctions on the world’s leading state sponsor of terror.”