WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th January, 2020) US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien believes that Tehran is more inclined to dialogue with the United States after US operation to assassinate Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani than before.
"I think the chances of sitting down with the Iranians and getting to a deal have improved significantly [because Soleimani is] off the battlefield," O'Brien said in an interview with the Axios news portal.
On the night of January 3, the United States conducted an operation near Baghdad International Airport, killing Soleimani, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iraqi Shiite militia leader Abu Mahdi Muhandis, among others. Washington considered both commanders to be behind the attack on the US embassy in Baghdad on December 31.
Iran retaliated on Wednesday by firing missiles at the Iraqi bases hosting American forces. No one was injured as a result of the attack, according to Washington. In response to Iran's missile attacks, the US administration announced new sanctions on Iran on Friday, designating eight senior Iranian officials involved in the attack and 17 Iranian iron and steel companies.
