US ‘refuses to be threatened’ by Iran after regime sanctions 50 Americans
- ‘Make no mistake: the United States of America will protect and defend its citizens,’ said White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan
- The Islamic republic on Saturday announced the sanctions for Americans’ role in the death of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani
Washington said on Sunday it refused to be threatened by Iran’s weekend sanctioning of some 50 Americans including senior officials, warning that Tehran would face “severe consequences” if it attacked any US nationals.
“Make no mistake: the United States of America will protect and defend its citizens,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
“Should Iran attack any of our nationals, including any of the 52 people named yesterday, it will face severe consequences.”
The Islamic republic on Saturday announced the sanctions, including on US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, for their role in the death of Qassem Soleimani, a powerful Iranian commander.
Soleimani, leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3, 2020, in what Iran on Saturday called a “callous terrorist act.”
Days ago Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi vowed revenge against Donald Trump unless the former US president is tried over Soleimani’s killing, as Tehran marked two years since the revered commander’s death.
In addition to Milley, the sanctioned Americans include Trump-era national security adviser Robert O’Brien and Nikki Haley, who served as US envoy to the United Nations.