Bernie Sanders announces intention to block funds for war on Iran

US Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has announced a bill to block funds for a war in Iran.

The bill would move to block a war on Iran unless US President Donald Trump gained the approval of Congress.

The move was announced at a Democratic Presidential campaign rally in Iowa.

Sanders, who described the decision to assassinate top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq as a “dangerous escalation” said:

If Congress wants to go to war, let Congress have the guts to vote for war.

“Our Founding Fathers gave the responsibility over war not to the president, but to Congress.”

“That is very clear in the Constitution. And in my view, Congress must, must act in the face of a president who has shown time and time again that he cannot be relied upon to tell us the truth, or to make well-thought-out decisions.”

The bill will be introduced to Congress by Democratic California representative Ro Khanna, and aims to prevent President Trump from dragging the US in another disastrous war in the Middle East.

Anti-war activists hold banners during a protest organised by ‘CodePink’ in front of the White House following the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani by a US airstrike in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, on January 4, 2020 in Washington, United States [Yasin Öztürk / Anadolu Agency]

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who gave Soleimani the country’s highest honor last year, vowed “severe retaliation” in response to his killing. Thousands mourned his death in Iraq, Iran and Gaza.

The Pentagon accused Soleimani of plotting the embassy attack and planning to carry out additional attacks on US diplomats and service members in Iraq and the region.

Qassem Soleimani was the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force and the mastermind of its regional security strategy. He was killed early Friday near the Baghdad international airport along with senior Iraqi militants in an airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump. The attack has caused regional tensions to soar and tested the US alliance with Iraq. Fearing escalation, NATO has suspended it’s training activities in Iraq, while the British Navy has committed to escort every UK-flagged ship across the Straits of Hormuz.

Showing no signs of seeking to reduce tensions, the US president has since issued a stern threat to Iran on Twitter, saying that the US has targeted 52 Iranian sites that it would strike if Iran attacks Americans or US assets in response to the US drone strike that killed Soleimani. He later added that the US will use ‘new’ equipment to strike Iran.

Trump: US will hit 52 Iranian sites if Iran retaliates