WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a co-author of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, issued the following statement on the news that the Pentagon, on orders from President Donald Trump, has killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Senator Cardin has cosponsored legislation that would prohibit war with Iran unless authorized by Congress.

“President Trump’s decision to kill Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad is a provocative act taken without congressional consultation or authorization, the potential consequences of which are unknown.  The Pentagon in its statement characterized the strike as ‘a defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad,’ but the Trump administration’s repeated confrontations with Iran tell a different story.  Dating to his withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear agreement in 2018,  this president has unfailingly raised tensions with Iran, and his latest act puts Americans at risk by all but inviting retaliation against U.S. and allied interests inside and outside of Iraq. There is no imminent threat aside from that which the president has provoked. President Trump should stop the provocations and allow diplomacy to take root.”

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