Says so the money was planning an imminent attack and this killing was an act of selfdefense also on the program navy ships rescue thousands of stranded on beaches by australias bush fires before catastrophic weather conditions here. And. With old sport australia stalls play on with the victims of the bushfires in mind the most toxic air in the world well its pretty sad. So its just. An emotional mecurio softies a g. P. Cup when as he raises thousands of dollars to help. Us President Donald Trump says he ordered the drone strike that killed the rands top military commander to stop a war not to start one he says he was planning imminent attacks on american diplomats and military personnel speaking at his mara lago resort in florida trump said washington does not seek regime change in iran but its aggression in the region must be stopped. We took action last night to stop a war we did not take action to start a war i have deep respect for the iranian people they are a remarkable people with an incredible heritage an unlimited potential we do not seek regime change wherever the Iranian Regime is aggression in the region including the use of proxy fighters to destabilize its neighbors must and it must end now we have the best intelligence in the world if americans anywhere are threatened we have all of those targets already fully identified and i am ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary well the assassination of one of the most powerful figures in iran has left the middle east on a knife edge because some silly money died in an airstrike near Baghdad Airport along with a top Iraqi Paramilitary commander the i will hunt these iraqs Prime Minister says their deaths will light the fuse of a destructive war in iraq and angry crowds protests that have to fight a prayer is condemning the assassination and chanting death to america Supreme Leader ali khamenei who had a close relationship with some the money vowed severe revenge for his killing as leaders around the world expressed concern and condemnation the u. S. Ordered all its citizens to immediately leave iraq its forces and israels are now on high alert some of the fulton reports now from back that. Heart break in the upper ranks of the Iranian Military at the official announcement of the death of Major General custom so in mani the commander of irans quds force the revolutionary guard unit responsible for foreign operations so the money was killed in a u. S. Drone strike in baghdad. And a spontaneous outbreak of joy in iraqi cities over the passing of a man many see as the embodiment of irans meddling here i sure wish i didnt have to listen to me i feel happy about killing solo money the reason is because of his foreign interference in iraq would you accept that our intervening in all the families issues everything has been trees. In the early hours of friday morning shortly after arriving at Baghdad International airport a u. S. Strike targeted a convoy of silly money and his close ally hondas the deputy head of the Iraqi PopularMobilization Forces an iranian backed part military group other members of the group were also killed for irans Supreme Leader ayatollah ali common a solemn mani was a trusted confidant a member of his inner circle and he warned there will be revenge the cruelest people on earth assassinated the honorable commander who courageously fought for years against the evils and bandis of the world sulaimani is martyrdom well make iran more decisive to resist americas expansionism and to defend our values with no doubt iran and other freedom seeking countries in the region will take his revenge. Only to. Leave while there is talk of revenge many iranians dont want to see war. With us support them and it will definitely increase violence but i fundamentally disagree with violence and conflict i believe people moving toward peace in negotiation to reach the goals is much better soleimani enjoyed some support when he led the charge to displace islip from iraq a strong. Holds but many iraqis now blame iran for instability and interference in their country and soleimani directly for a violent crackdown on antigovernment protests which began in october the us assassinations are the most extreme escalation in tensions between to head on in washington in recent years and many in baghdad fear it will continue to play out on iraqi soil and if an indistinct has she always syria and we condemn this its unacceptable for Something Like this to be happening in our country its a tween america and iran and in the end we will be hurt our situation is already not stable many iraqis oppose iranian and american interventions alike. Earlier this week mohandas himself let a crowd of Popular Mobilization forces supporters as they attacked and besieged the u. S. Embassy in baghdad he walked alongside of another senior military leader of the pro iran group who has now called on his followers to take up arms against the american presence iraqs caretaker Prime MinisterAbdullah Abdullah to condemn the u. S. Strike as a violation of iraqs sovereignty and the rules of engagement of the american presence here he called the death of mohandas an aggression against the iraqi state. Parliament is due to hold an emergency session on sunday but analysts say the government beleaguered and divided after 3 months of antigovernment protests will struggle to mount a decisive response Iraqi Government is very weak for the time being there will be no more the statements coming out of the. Caretaker Prime Minister or from the ministry of Foreign Affairs other than that i dont expect anything from the Iraqi Government but probably the Iraqi Parliament will. Call for an immediate session and do will discuss the current. Americans in iraq agreement and probably they will ask for the department of the American Forces from iraq. Whether their response to u. S. Presence in iraq will be political or military the assassinations have put an end to a precarious balance of power that had us far accommodated both u. S. And iranian interests in iraq the iraqi capital already a battleground for tensions between the u. S. And iran is bracing itself for the aftermath of the biggest escalation yet with both u. S. And iranian backed troops on the ground the country risks being caught in the middle of a military fallout between washington and tehran similar 14 aljazeera but that. Well Irans National Security council has vowed to retaliate in the quote right place and time after holding an extraordinary meeting on friday or saturday are in tehran has more now has some still in mind his life and the reaction to his this. Shock and disbelief at the events that have led to this as a nation of the head of the bulls force hossam so the money have now turned into anger and frustration and their vows of revenge the Supreme Leader has been at the home of us and so in money and where hes been speaking to his surviving family members and passing on his condolences weve also heard a statement thats been issued by the supreme National Security council of iran headed by president sandra honey where they said that they will respond appropriately to the actions of the United States now all this happening while the iranians have said that after the attack took place there was a message that was sent to tehran via the Swiss Embassy from the americans about the decision they took and the iranians have now since responded now we dont know the contents of these messages that have gone back and forth but it is Something Interesting to watch in the coming days but lets take a closer look at the events that unfolded earlier today. In his hometown of care mon in central iran thousands gathered to say goodbye to a man many saw as more than just the head of irans elite force Major General essential imani came into the role more than 20 years ago and had been one of the masterminds of irans military strategy in the region whatever anyone else thought about so they money he was revered and admired by many in the Islamic Republic because. I heard it on the radio in the taxi this morning i was waiting for the names of those killed when i heard general salim on each name i said oh god he was martyred on with us the former unfortunately its clear that wherever the us entered it was after domination for its own interests general shalit money was one who stood up bravely especially fighting i saw. He was a key figure 100 percent they were targeting him they knew where he was surely a wrong wont leave it on on sort of will do something silly money rarely. Spoke in public but gave this interview in october saying irans revolutionary guard had expanded what he called Islamic Resistance to half a 1000000 square kilometers connecting iran through iraq and syria to lebanon the cuts force runs irans Foreign Military and Clandestine Operations so they money delegated iranian diplomats to meet u. S. Officials after the 911. 00 attacks and they brutally worked together against the taliban. But that relationship didnt last long. The u. S. And irans pirate is aligned once again in the fight against eisel but then evolved beyond the battlefield in april last year the u. S. Designated irans Islamic Revolutionary guards corps as a terrorist organization but so in money had the full support of his government the Supreme LeaderAyatollah Khamenei awarded him irans highest military honor last year same so a money had survived many attempts on his life both here in iran and abroad and now his death will likely embolden the groups who support it as a rains mark 3 days of National Mourning many here are looking to see what will happen next. Aljazeera tehran. Lets get more now on President Trumps comments that alan fischer joins us live now from the pentagon im so we heard the president say that the u. S. Took action not to start a war but to stop a war does it sound to you like the president was trying to the escalator events. It sounds as if that is certainly the tone coming from the trumpet ministration movement might pompeo on the foreign turn number of World Leaders a number of allies in the in the last few hours saying that look with the United States is very keen on deescalation donald trump said the thing this hes going to get criticism for is that this decision was made because of some compelling intelligence that had passed to him and of course he described the u. S. Intelligence agencies as the best in the world these are the same intelligence agencies that donald trump himself has criticized particularly when it comes to them talking about russian interference in the 26000 election seems to all roads go back to there. It also appears that dont trump has been considering this sort of operation for some time he says that a number of other president s have considered that this should have been done a long time ago but they decided to know there are those who will say that this is entirely tied in to what happened outside the u. S. Embassy in the last few days that general silverman or was proven this far as the americans were considered to be behind those protests and he was going to. Provoke some more protests that couldnt be tolerated by the United States that is why they took action there will be others in this very divided tone who will say that its interesting that donald trump has had this on his desk for some time but decided to take action just a couple of days before the senate began to consider whether or not we should purse the head with impeachment action against him but what is clear is that donald trump says he wants to see the escalation not entirely sure that hes going to get his wish so what weve heard from mike compare with courage from donald trump weve also heard from the chair of the joint chiefs of staff has been speaking in the last hour what did he have to say. Americas top general mark milley seeing that he didnt say the intelligence was compelling they were concerned that general silverman was planning in the days weeks and months to come a significant operation which would lead to the death of a number of americans he said the risks of not acting were much greater than those of taking action no and he also said that when asked was that a greater risk to americans in the region know his exact response was and i quote damn right theres a greater risk so the americans know that there are consequences here the concern across the washington is that whether or not donald trump has planned for this adequately hes known as someone who reacts with his gut who takes instinctive decisions and it seems that hes done that there but what people want to know is if they were prepared for what might happen next it was once described to me is that there are no chess players in the Trump Administration they see the next move to take but theyre not sure whether theyre entirely protecting the border what we do know is that the pentagon is reacting by sending 3500 members of the 2nd airborne to kuwait and then perhaps or on to places beyond that we know that 750 of them were moved there at the beginning of the week because of what was happening in say the embassy in baghdad the decision has no been taken to move the rest of the Rapid Reaction force and they will be leaving. Scuse me they will be leaving their base in North Carolina in the coming hours heading towards kuwait so the americans seem to be taking action but its interesting that there was some communication between journalists and those inside the embassy in baghdad and they said they didnt know whether to hunker down or whether to leave that would suggest that there hasnt been a great deal of planning you remember also that might pompey or had said americans are much safer no be. Because of the action ordered by donald trump but might prompt use on state department has in the last few hours all americans who are in iraq to leave the country as soon as possible obviously fearful of the consequences of this action yeah definite contradiction there alan fischer with the latest from the pentagon alan thank you well congress reconvened a few hours ago after its christmas recess thats get more now from high this year castro who is live for us on capitol hill during that News Conference we heard the president say that the u. S. Military killed so the money at his direction so obviously ordering the strike without Consulting Congress so whats the reaction been like there well its fallen sharply along partisan divisions here barbara with democrats saying that there was no consultation with congress in the us this act this initiating this drone strike that killed silly money at the behest of the president alone the Congressional Democrats saying that that may have been illegal and warning a serious consequences a much different response coming from the president s republican allies in fact a few of them may have had some knowledge that this was actually in the works we know that some of the top supporters of President Trump were in his Vacation Home with him in the days leading up to this strike down in florida and several of them have stated on the record that they were in full support of the president and in fact congratulating him on his Decisive Action just take a listen to how starkly contrast of the 2 responses are irans master terrorist. The architect and chief engineer of the worlds most active state sponsor of terrorism has been removed from the battle. Of the United States military. No man. Was more directly responsible for the deaths of more American Service members and cost them solar money the question moving forward is whether the administration has given any thought as to how to manage the fallout that comes from such a drastic action this is the equivalent of the iranians assassinating the u. S. Secretary of defense if the iranians were to assassinate the u. S. Secretary of defense we would consider that an act of war and we would respond disproportionately. I think we need to expect that the iranians will also act disproportionately i do not believe the administration has gamed out how very badly this could go for the u. S. And our interests so heidi obviously received political divisions they are divisions that we would have seen during the impeachment trial which presumably is what we would have been talking about right now if if this attack hadnt happened i guess many people there are questioning the timing of this action. Thats right if this was the 1st day that the senate was back in town and their 1st order of business in the new year was supposed to be planning for the impending impeachment trial of President Trump and while no one is directly accusing the president of taking this military action for political purposes certainly the timing does make some people wonder and in fact instead of going into the impeachment trial senators are instead