Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio indicated Wednesday that he was satisfied with a national security briefing on the Qasem Soleimani raid and suggested people who weren’t “just oppose everything [President Donald] Trump does.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pray near the coffins of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Tehran, Iran, January 6, 2020. Official President’s Website/Handout via REUTERS
“Natl Security officials gave a compelling briefing to Senators just now,” the senator wrote on Twitter. “They answered every important question. Anyone who walks out & says they aren’t convinced action against #Soleimani was justified is either never going to be convinced or just oppose everything Trump does.”
Natl Security officials gave a compelling briefing to Senators just now. They answered every important question.
Anyone who walks out & says they aren’t convinced action against #Soleimani was justified is either never going to be convinced or just oppose everything Trump does.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 8, 2020
Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was one of those lawmakers not convinced by the briefing, and appeared quite irritated after.
“What I found so distressing about that briefing was that one of the messages we received from the briefers was, ‘Do not debate. Do not discuss the issue of the appropriateness of further military intervention against Iran. And then if you do, you’ll be emboldening Iran,’” Lee told reporters in a scrum after he left the briefing. He was flanked by Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who also argues that congressional authorization should be sought, and is needed, before military engagements. (RELATED: Iraq Votes To Expel US Troops As Soleimani Mourners Crowd Tehran Streets)
Iranian Maj. Gen. Soleimani was killed by a drone missile following an assault upon and temporary occupation of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by a pro-Iranian Iraqi militia force. A top U.S. official said Soleimani, as leader of the terrorist Quds force, was planning further attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq. (RELATED: Pentagon Says Trump Ordered Strike That Killed Top Iranian General At Baghdad Airport)Although Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of revenge attacks against the U.S., Tuesday night strikes against Americans at Iraqi air bases did not result in any deaths.
A stampede reportedly broke out Tuesday at Soleimani’s funeral, killing 55 people.