President Donald Trump warns Iraq that he would levy punishing sanctions if it expelled American troops in retaliation for a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian official.
"We will charge them sanctions like they've never seen before ever. It'll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame," said President Trump, "If there's any hostility, that they do anything we think is inappropriate, we are going to put sanctions on Iraq, very big sanctions on Iraq."
The targeted killing of the commander of the Quds force, Qassem Soleimani, sparked outrage in the Middle East, including in Iraq, where more than 5,000 American troops are still on the ground 17 years after the U.S. invasion. Iraq's parliament voted Sunday in favor of a nonbinding resolution calling for the expulsion of the American forces.
First published: 13:51, 01.06.20