News broke yesterday that Iran had plotted the assassination of a U.S. diplomat in retaliation of the killing of Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani.
The specific target was Lana Marks, the U.S. ambassador to South Africa. U.S. officials have reportedly been aware of these threats since the spring, but they’ve become increasingly specific in recent weeks. Intel officials also believe that a number of other U.S. officials are targets for retaliation from Iran, but didn’t name the others.
President Trump fired back at Iran in response to the news, warning that if they carry through on their threats, his response won’t be “an eye for an eye,” but rather a thousand.
As Fox News reports:
President Trump took to Twitter late Monday to issue a stern warning to Iran that an assassination attempt or attack against the U.S. in retaliation for the airstrike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani earlier this year would be met with a counterattack that “will be 1,000 times greater in magnitude.”
Speaking hours later in an interview with “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday morning, Trump repeated the warning: “We’re all set,” he said. “They’ll be hit a thousand times harder.”
The threat of overwhelming force has tamed Iran into submission in the past – the most notable example being the Iran Hostage Crisis, which lasted 444 days, only to be ended immediately after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration.
