- Title: Schiff concerned about prospect of "serious escalation" with Iran
- Date: 3rd January 2020
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JANUARY 3, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN AND HEAD OF THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, ADAM SCHIFF, SAYING: "Good afternoon. I had an opportunity to get a briefing on the intelligence that led to the recent strikes. And I have profound concerns about the prospect for a serious escalation of this conflict with Iran." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN AND HEAD OF THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, ADAM SCHIFF, SAYING: "I have yet to be fully satisfied that the administration either has a strategy that this is not simply a one-off act of retaliation or preemptive strike, that this is part of some broader coherent plan, and that greatly concerns me. This is how you, when nobody seeks war, end up in a war. And so, if the administration has a broader strategy, they have yet to articulate it." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN AND HEAD OF THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, ADAM SCHIFF, SAYING: "I have concerns that we are on a pathway where a U.S. action is met by an Iranian reaction, which is met by a U.S. reaction with both the United States and Iran contemplating further potential military action, and where is that going to lead us? And so, I think the dangers are going up, not down."
- Embargoed: 17th January 2020 19:37
- Keywords: Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff Iran Qassem Soleimani Trump administration
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNTIED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNTIED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA001BUME6VB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The Democratic head of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said on Friday (January 3) that he has "profound concerns" that the conflict with Iran could escalate after the killing by the U.S. of a prominent Iranian military commander.
An airstrike on Friday killed Qassem Soleimani, Tehran's most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing influence in the Middle East.
Schiff said that even after receiving an intelligence briefing he does not believe the Trump administration has a "coherent plan", and said that the dangers are "going up, not down."
In the wake of the strike the Pentagon announced that it is sending nearly 3,000 additional troops to the Middle East from the 82nd Airborne Division as a precaution amid rising threats to American forces in the region.
Iran promised vengeance after the U.S. air strike in Baghdad that killed Soleimani.
(Production: Greg Savoy, Ashraf Fahim) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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