MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US justifies at UN the killing of Iranian commander, but ready “to engage with Teheran in serious negotiations”

Trump had said the decision to kill Soleimani was based on intelligence showing he was planning “imminent attacks” against US targets in the Middle East.

The United States told the United Nations on Wednesday that the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani last week was self-defense and vowed to take additional action “as necessary” in the Middle East to protect US personnel and interests.

Iran retaliated on Wednesday for Soleimani's death by firing missiles at military facilities housing US troops in Iraq. US President Donald Trump said no Americans were hurt, soothing fears that Soleimani's death and the Iranian response could spark a wider conflict in the Middle East.

In a letter to the UN Security Council, US Ambassador Kelly Craft said the United States also stands “ready to engage without preconditions in serious negotiations with Iran, with the goal of preventing further endangerment of international peace and security or escalation by the Iranian regime”

The killing of Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday was justified under Article 51 of the UN Charter, wrote Craft in the letter adding “the United States is prepared to take additional actions in the region as necessary to continue to protect US personnel and interests”.

Under Article 51, countries are required to “immediately report” to the 15-member Security Council any measures taken in exercising the right of self-defense. The United States used

Article 51 to justify taking action in Syria against Islamic State militants in 2014.

Trump had said the decision to kill Soleimani was based on intelligence showing he was planning “imminent attacks” against US targets in the Middle East.

But neither Trump nor his national security team, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and national security adviser Robert O'Brien, were able to provide details.

Republican Senator Mike Lee said a Wednesday briefing for senators by Pompeo and Esper left him unsatisfied and distressed, calling it the worst such briefing he had ever received. “I had hoped and expected to receive more information outlining the legal, factual and moral justification for the attack,” he said.

Iran also justified its action under Article 51 of the UN Charter in a letter to the UN Security Council on Wednesday. The US letter to the UN Security Council arrived after Iran's letter, diplomats said.

Iran's UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi wrote that Tehran “does not seek escalation or war” after exercising its right to self-defense by taking a “measured and proportionate military response targeting an American air base in Iraq”.

“The operation was precise and targeted military objectives thus leaving no collateral damage to civilians and civilian assets in the area,” Ravanchi wrote.

“Seriously warning about any further military adventurism against it, Iran declares that it is determined to continue to, vigorously and in accordance with applicable international law, defend its people, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity against any aggression,” he said.