US

DHS Chief Lauds President Trump’s ‘Decisive Action’ Against Iranian General

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Chad Wolf, the acting director of the Department of Homeland Security, applauded President Donald Trump’s drone strike order against Iran’s top military general.

Wolf on Friday released a statement that commended the administration for taking action against Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force. The DHS chief also announced that, in response to the military action taken yesterday, he convened with senior department leaders to discuss the appropriate next steps.

“I commend the president’s decisive action to protect American lives both abroad and at home. The Department of Homeland Security stands ready to confront and combat any and all threats facing our homeland,” Wolf said in a prepared statement Friday. “While there are currently no specific, credible threats against our homeland, DHS continues to monitor the situation and work with our Federal, State, and local partners to ensure the safety of every American.”

“As a result of yesterday’s military action, I convened senior DHS leadership last night and earlier this morning to assess potential new threats and component actions to respond to the constantly evolving threat and landscape. The entire Department remains vigilant and stands ready, as always, to defend the Homeland,” Wolf continued.

The announcement follows a military drone strike that killed Soleimani — who is accused of promoting terrorism abroad and being behind many American deaths — near a Baghdad airport. The drone strike was in response to Iranian-backed protesters storming the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Soleimani served as the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, which has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government. The Pentagon stated Soleimani was “actively developing plans” to attack U.S. service members and diplomats in Iraq.

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis — a leader of Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iraqi paramilitary Shia group — was also killed by a U.S. drone strike. The now-deceased military chief was among those spotted during the protest raid of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday.

While DHS has recently been associated primarily with border and immigration security, the massive U.S. department is tasked with managing numerous other aspects of American security, including the prevention and elimination of terrorist activity. In 2019, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency within DHS, deported thousands of convicted criminals, including those with ties to terrorism.