Very few appear to have been informed that the attack would take place
The attack seems to have been a completely unilateral act by the United States with even the US Congress not even being notified let alone approving the action. Britain was not informed or even Iraq according to a recent article.
Many countries along with the US Congress were unhappy about not being given advance notice of the attack As a result some US allies are making it clear they were not involved and want a reduction in tension. There are some reports that Soleimani was part of a diplomatic mission between the Saudis and Iran designed to reduce tension in the area.
Some responses
The French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the time had come for diplomacy. He warned that without urgent action to defuse tensions there was a real risk of a new Middle East conflict.
Israel and NATO have said that they played no part in the attack. The weak support from allies has annoyed Mike Pompeo: “Both Israel and Nato stressed they were not involved in the airstrike on Friday. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has already expressed disappointment in the lukewarm reaction of Washington’s European allies.”
Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu was clear in his position: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the assassination “isn’t an Israeli event but an American event We were not involved and should not be dragged into it.” ” Given that Israel is a close ally of the US this may seem to be a surprising position but it may be designed to avoid Israel becoming a target of Iran if there is a war with the US.
The appended video gives a quite different slant on the Israeli position as Netanyahu clearly supports the US narrative that the act was justified self-defense against a “bad guy” who was about to attack the US. Perhaps Netanyahu was urged by the US to give positive support after he had distanced himself from the attack.
US refuses visa to Iranian diplomat to speak at the UN
Another event following on the Soleimani assassination that could cause negative reaction is the US the refusal of the US to allow the Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif a visa to speak to the UN in New York:”To avoid a speech at the UN Security Council critical of President Trump’s decision to assassinate Iranian General Qassam Soleimani, the US has refused to allow Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to enter the country for the purpose of conducting UN business.”
