Trump says his tweets are ‘notification’ to Congress, pledges ‘disproportionate’ response to Iran in case of attack

The US President Donald Trump has literally said that his Twitter posts should be seen as “notification to the United States Congress” – in another tweet no less – as he vowed to “strike back” should Iran target any American.

The president minced no words as he continued to threaten Tehran with a swift and potentially devastating response as the two nations have found themselves on the brink of a military conflict after the US killed a top Iranian commander on a direct order from the White House.

This time, however, he did not just issue another threat but also said that the US Congress should follow his Twitter to keep up with the latest developments of this potentially explosive situation.

“These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner,” Trump tweeted. “Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!”

The US State Secretary Mike Pompeo told ABC’s ‘This Week’ earlier on Sunday that, although Washington had “all the authority” to strike the Iranian general, it would try and keep Congress informed about its plans from now on. He never mentioned it would be done in the form of Twitter feed, though.

Trump himself has, meanwhile, been busy issuing threats to Tehran after Iran called the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force, an “act of international terrorism” and vowed revenge.

The US president warned that 52 Iranian targets, including some apparently important cultural sites, could be hit in a retaliation strike, should Tehran follow up on its revenge plans. Pompeo later denied this statement. Trump also said that “brand new” American military hardware worth trillions of dollars would head Iran’s way in the event of retaliatory action.

Back at home, Trump was heavily criticized by the Democrats, including senators and 2020 hopefuls Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, as well House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is leading the impeachment process against him. They all warned it would bring Washington closer to war with Tehran.

Trump’s Republican allies, on the contrary, welcomed the move and sided with the president and the secretary of state in calling it a preemptive defensive.

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