U.S. Strike on Iranian Commander in Yemen the Night of Suleimani’s Assassination Killed the Wrong Man
The operation was aimed at killing Abdul Reza Shahlai, the commander of the Yemen division of Iran’s elite Quds Force, near the Yemeni capital Sana’a. Shahlai survived, but a lower-level Quds Force operative was killed, and Shahlai went into hiding, the official said. . .
The strike was first reported by the Washington Post. The White House referred The Intercept to the Department of Defense, which did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication
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Congress has not authorized U.S. military action against Iran, so members are likely to question the legal basis for a strike against Shahlai. Congress did, however, recently pass a bipartisan resolution directing President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from “hostilities” in Yemen. Trump vetoed the resolution, but it marked a clear desire on the part of Congress to end American support for Saudi-led operations in the country.
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Following the strike on Suleimani, the U.S. sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council, saying that the U.S. had “undertaken certain actions in the exercises of its inherent right of self-defense,” and that the actions “include” the operation to kill Suleimani, leaving open the possibility that the U.S. conducted other strikes that night.
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