Headline: Middle East braced for backlash after killing of Qassem Soleimani

Sub-headline: Fears grow that death of Iranian general will suck region into broader conflict

https://www.ft.com/content/52a2fce4-2e0f-11ea-a126-99756bd8f45e

 

The Financial Times ‘reports’ on the Soleimani killing with the aid of quotes from :  London School of Economics Middle East expert Toby Dodge, an anonymous Gulf official, Anwar Gargash, UAE’s minister of state and Benjamin Netanyahu.

Call this understatement?:

“No one in the Trump administration will have had a clear idea of its consequences so risk mitigation is almost impossible. Retaliation, in the first instance, is likely to be focused on Iraq,” said Toby Dodge, a Middle East expert at the London School of Economics Anwar Gargash and

The guarded comment of one anonymous Gulf official :

“There’s a great sense of relief,” said a former Gulf official. “However, Gulf states will be reserved in their official reaction given the fact that although everyone wants Iran to be contained within its borders, no one wants to see escalation.”

The statement of Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs:

“Rational engagement requires a calm and unemotional approach,” Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, said in a tweet on Friday. Saudi Arabia also called for restraint after Soleimani’s killing.

The statement of Benjamin Netanyahu:

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, told Israeli reporters in Greece that Israel completely supported US actions. His office said he was cutting his trip short and would return to Israel to “follow developments” after the killing.

This reads almost like an actual news story!

Political Observer