>> this is al jazeera. >> hello and welcome to the newshour." i am peter in doha. reaction to the assassination of major general qassim suleimani. his reign of terror is over. >> donald trump said he acted to stop a war with iran, not start one. iran's supreme leader has sent his condolences to suleimani's

family and warned revenge awaits those responsible. fears theme minister fuse of a destructive war has been led. another state of emergency declared in australia. conditions are back. says he acted to stop a war with iran, not start one, by assassinating qassim suleimani. he added the u.s. is prepared for any reprisals. he died in an airstrike in baghdad. the recent attacks on u.s. targets in iraq, including rocket strikes that killed an american and injured

, as american servicemen well as a violent assault on our embassy in baghdad were carried out at the election of suleimani . death of made the innocent people his sick passion, contributing to terrorist plots as far away as new delhi and london. today we remember the very rooms of suleimani's many atrocities and take comfort in knowing his reign of terror is over. perpetrating been acts of terror to destabilize the middle east for the last 20 years. what the united states did yesterday should have been done long ago. a lot of lives would have been saved. the brutaled repression of protesters in iran where more than 1000 civilians were tortured and killed by their own government.

we took action last night to stop a war. we did not take action to start a war. >> earlier the ayatollah he how many warned of severe revenge for the criminals responsible for suleimani killing. iranians protested, chanting death to america. iraq's prime minister says it will light a fuse of a otherctive war and if leaders expressed concern and condemnation. the u.s. has ordered all of its people to leave iraq immediately and his military personnel have been put on high alert. we begin our coverage with a report from baghdad. iranian break in the military as the official announcement of the death of major general qassim suleimani, the commander of iran's revolutionary guard unit responsible for foreign

operations. suleimani was killed in baghdad. and a spontaneous outbreak of joy in cities over the passing of a man many see as the embodiment of iran's meddling. >> i feel happy about it. accept?u everything is boundaries. after arrivingng at baghdad international airport, a u.s. strike targeted suleimani and his close ally. the deputy head of the iraqi paramilitary group. other members were also killed. for the ayatollah khomeini, suleimani was a confidant and a member of his inner circle. he warned there will be revenge. >> the cruelest people on earth

assassinated the honorable commander who fought for years against the evils and bandits of the world. suleimani's martyred on will make iran more decisive to resist america's expansionism. othero doubt, iran and freedom seeking countries will take his revenge. while there's talk of revenge, many arabians do not want to see war. >> it will definitely increase violence. i disagree with violence and conflict. i believe peace negotiations to reach goals. >> suleimani enjoyed some support when he led the discharge to displace ice a. any blame iran for its interference in the country and suleimani for a crackdown on antigovernment protests. the u.s. assassinations are the most extreme escalation in

tensions between iran and washington and many in baghdad fear it will continue to play out on iraqi soil. >> we condemn this. it is unacceptable for this to happen on our country. it is between america and iran. >> many oppose american intervention. earlier this week, there was a forces inopulation baghdad. he walked alongside senior military leaders of the pro-air upn group who has called arms against the american presence. iraq's caretaker prime minister condemned the u.s. strike as a violation of iraq's sovereignty and the rules of engagement of the ameririn presencece here. he called the death and

aggression against the iraqi state. parliament will hold an emergency session on sunday. analysts say the government, beleaguered and divided after antigovernment protests, will struggle to mount a decisive response. >> the iraqi government is very weak for the time being. it will be no more than statements coming out of the caretaker prime minister, or the ministry of foreign affairs. i don't expect anything from the government. will call for an immediate andion and discuss the care the agreement and probably they ofl ask for the deportation american forces from iraq. >> whether the response to u.s. presence in iraq will be political or military, the assassinations have put an end to a precarious balance of power that had accommodated u.s. and

iranian interests in iraq. already acapital battleground for tensions between the u.s. and iran is bracing itself for the aftermath with the u.s. and iranian troops on the ground, the country risks being caught in the middle of a military fallout between washington and tehran. 22 hours since suleimani lost his life, along with several other people. according to reuters, the airstrikes targeting iraqi militantia convoy had been going on in the past hour or so. perhaps north of baghdad. six people have been killed. that is the reuters new agency. airstrikes have been targeting an iraqi militia convoy north of baghdad. how far north, we don't know. how many vehicles involved, we don't know.

was it a military or a drone strike? we don't know. that is one report according to the reuters news agency. in the united states, reaction to suleimani's assassination is split. the republicans are praising it while democrats are questioning why the president did not consult congress before approving the strike. president donald trump tried to justify his decision to order the killing of guard commander qassim suleimani by claiming suleimani had been planning imminent and sinister attacks on americans in the region. pres. trump: we took action last night to stop a war. wase said suleimani responsible for the deaths of thousands of american service people. pres. trump: suleimani has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilize the middle east for the last 20 years.

what the united states did yesterday should have been done long ago. >> republican allies agreed. manor too long, this evil operated without constraint, and countless innocents have suffered for it. leadership hasst been ended. >> democrats say trump ordered withoute strike consulting congress and warned of serious consequences. >> this is the equivalent of the iranians assassinating the u.s. secretary of defense. i do not believe the administration has gained out how badly this could go for the u.s. and our interests. >> this action may have brought our nation closer to an endless war. exactly the kind of endless war

the president promised he would not drag us into. promisedas retaliation. were urgedn citizens to leave iraq immediately despite the claims on u.s. media americans in the region are safed or after suleimani's demise. no one is accusing trump of ordering friday's drone strike for political purposes, it does overshadow all political headlines in the u.s., including trump's impeachment trial. the u.s. senate was to begin the new year by taking on that as their first order of business and instead senators are preparing for briefings on the u.s. military strike and whatever response it may bring. the u.s. president donald trump has been rallying his eventual co-christian supporters in miami in florida.

preaching to be converted. what has he been saying? he's been talking about the things a vent gel calls -- evangelicals care about, control,rights, gun he's really preaching to the converted. this is the beginning of president trump's coalition of evangelicals. he wants to focus on black and hispanic voters. apart from a short mention on the drone strike, this has been about all that. president trump is now in full campaign mode. 80%mber evangelicals voted for president trump in 2016. the president just wrapping up as i speak right now. this is as if the drone strike on friday never really happen. we spoke to a few people and

they are behind the president and everything he does. one man came up to me and put his hand on my shoulder and said donald trump is the president we need. when he was talking earlier, he did stick closely to what was on the prompter. he did not take questions afterward. that is true. the tone of what he said at the beginning of the speech was it was, kindy as of subdued. he did say to the crowd, we got him. which made lots of people applaud. that was all he said on that subject. he moved on quickly to the about,evangelicals care supreme court judges, lower court judges, all the things he's achieved.

this is a concerted effort on behalf of the president to supported evangelical going into the election later this year. peter: thanks very much. the u.s. president being sung "you can'tge two always get what you want." tweeted the secretary-general has advocated for de-escalation. he is concerned with the recent escalation. this is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint. the world cannot afford another war in the gulf. the last statement was not well whoived by agnes calamar resorts to bun. she said there is no more pressing time for the u.n. to step up. the statement does not bode well , you have the legal tools and platform. please use them. world war iii.

she joins us now from las vegas. welcome to the news hour. bun has the tools. what do you want them to do? as you have well reported, since yesterday, the situation .s extremely serious and grave international law may not be the response. political will is required. the secretary-general has a few tools at his disposal. is torst an important one invoke article 99 of the charter which would aleppo for the issue to become a priority on the agenda of the security council and the general assembly. in my view, the first important step should be for the

secretary-general to initiate and inquire, not t just on the targeted killing of general suleimani, but on the broader thatxt and the events preceded the killing. there are a range of grievances and escalations that must be taken into account for any kind of inquiry to have some impact on the current situation. iraq, whose territory was violated by the , thee and other actions iranian government itself. iraq could make a request to the beretary-general to

established very quickly so the fact can be assessed. under international laws, extremely complexex and raises difficult questions which demand reflection. we ought to be careful not to exacerbate the tensision by forward any putting fast judgment on the issue. peter: we've had the u.s. president giving a preprepared statement about the circumstances in the run-up to be decision taken to kill suleimani. is there any way donald trump suggestion he had plans meet any legal task? the statement by donald trump

never be sufficient to justify the attacks. it does not mean the united states do not have sufficient evidence to back up what they did. legalternational justification for the killings are very high because it is not the the question of whether u.s. acted lawfully in self-defense, which is questionable. it is notot only a question of conflict.ere was a that is a huge issue. nobody wants to address it directly. heart ofssue is at the the decision. you,: just to interrupt are you going to deliver an awkward message to the u.n.

secretary-general on this? it occurs to me you are saying the death of suleimani and people in his entourage was retaliatory, not anticipatory. that is something your boss will not want to hear. >> well, look. the statement we were provided yesterday and the facts as we knew them seem to indicate retaliation. the statement provided by the president seems to be indicating an anticipatory self-defense approach. there was an imminent threat, imminent plans for targeted action. i am not in a position to reach thisclusion as to w whether is justified under international law. the information is too vague. this is why i'm suggesting we to get toto the

details. let me insist upon one more fact. it is not only whether self-defense is justified. met. laws must be international human rights law is an important body of law. doubtfuls law, it is , that his suleimani killing was lawful under national law. it is even more doubtful the people in his entourage that were also killed, it is doubtful lawful unders were human rights law. it's not because s self-defense implies.

internationalse humanitarian law may apply. this is a complex issue. that is taken ininto account. that is why y the secretary only on to proceceed, not what happened last night. tohink to have an impact, de-escalate, the inquiry must be broader than that and taken into account what happened before yesterday. to youok, good to talk as ever. thank you very much. ♪ lots more still to come on the assassination of suleimani.

for now we are going to have a look at other top stories around the world. australian firefighters say more homes will burn down on saturday. they will be happy to stop any more being lost. the state ofs in new south wales where another emergency has in dix closed. right now to on the new south wales south coast. over to you. area has been hit incredibly hard by the bushfire season. i am in new south wales and i'm joined by a captain who is coordinating efforts. tell me about the conditions crews are facing today on the ground. arehe temperatures increasing. somewhere between 35 and 40 degrees. the relative humidity is coming

down. the conditions will get dangerous. probably more to be south of us is going to be more affected. is area to the north of us well burned out now. we've got some pockets where they are concerned about. we are trying to keep those contained. >> how dangerous are things on the ground for crews? >> extremely dangerous. it is dry. the winds can be quite violent. the fire behavior is volatile. >> thank you. as you can imagine, it is a tense situation and dangerous for crews on the ground. locals are being advised to be on high alert and to leave the area if possible. it is that combination of extreme heat and wind and low humidity making things dangerous for this area in new south wales. peter: has it got to the stage

where it is difficult for authorities to rotate people into b firefighting operation? some of those towns don't have a big fire department. presumably people are coming in from outside the region. that is the case, peter. the other thing is that these are small communities and they are working together on the firefighting effort. some unities have been hit so hard. community where the headquarters actually burned down in a fire a few days ago. these are the conditions crews are facing. the communities are coming together. everyone is working together alongside with the firefighting crews to try to resolve this crisis. peter: thank you very much. the libyan warlord says his a foreignfter

occupier. they have laid siege to be cap a tripoli. -- to the capital tripoli. lots more still to come on newshour," including the assassination of qassim suleimani. 100 babies dead in one month. the reasons behind the high child mortality rate at a public hospital in india. it felt sad. us chelios and sports stars play on with the bushfire victims in mind. -- australia's sports stars play on with bushfire victims in mind.

♪ >> hello. the rain has been following steadily in the southeastern states of the u.s. it is moving east now. should be daylight hours on saturday, drifting slowly. still there in florida. it has left places to the west. any potential flooding has gone. it is cold and sunny for other states. not particularly cold in winnipeg. much colder than that a month ago. on the pacific coast, that storm system is winding down toward california. it is not particularly cold. it could be better. having a look at the sunshine elsewhere. not a bad bit of january. moving down the caribbean and apart from a few showers, not

much going on. there is a cloud. juststreak, you saw that now as the frontal system goes down. the tail land will produce some pretty big thunderstorms. a breeze onto the mexican coast. though storms are still in mexico and guatemala. ♪ peter: you are watching al jazeera. this is the "newshour". donald trump saying he ordered the killing of qassim suleimani to stop a war, not start one. he says suleimani was planning attacks on military personnel. iran's supreme leader ayatollah khamenei has vowed parts revenge over the killing of suleimani

and iraq's prime minister has warned this will light the fuse of a destructive war. we have breaking developments right now out of iraq. the state television channel is reporting new airstrikes have targeted the commander of iran backed iraqi paramilitary groups near a camp north of baghdad. that story is still developing. we will get more on that as soon as we can. on hearing the news about qassim suleimani's death, benjamin netanyahu cut short a trip to greece. he applauded donald trump's decision to approve the deadly airstrike. the right israel has of self-defense, the united states has the same right. qassim suleimani is responsible for the death of american citizens and many other innocent people. he was planning more.

president trump deserves credit for acting swiftly and decisively. israel stands with united states in its struggle for security and self-defense. peter: under qassim suleimani, iran has been instrumental in building a network of proxy armed groups across the middle east. the string began with hezbollah and after the overthrow saddam hussein, iran became a dominant force in iraq where it armed and trained paramilitary groups. iran has provided support for syria during its civil war including training and intelligence services. iran's influence extends to be southern tip of the arabian peninsula where it is accused of backing the houthis. the foreign minister says the actions hurt the entire region and appropriate retaliation is imminent. >> the islamic republic of iran

holds the right to respond anytime and it will. we will not be involved in america's smear campaigns and blackmailing. we will give a proper response in any manner and time. we will. as stated by the supreme leader. peter: the significance of qassim suleimani and the impact of his loss to iran. hometown in central iran, thousands gather to say goodbye to a man many saw as more than just the head of the elite force. major general qassim suleimani came into the role more than 20 years ago and has been one of the masterminds of iran's military strategy in the region. whatever anyone else thought about suleimani, he was revered by many in the islamic republic. on the radio this morning. i was waiting for the names of those killed.

when i heard suleimani, i said, oh god, he was martyred. is clearunately it wherever the u.s.s, i enteris after domination for its own interests. suleimani stood out bravely, especially fighting isil. figure.s a key 100% they were targeting him. we will do something. >> suleimani rarely spoke in public. he gave this interview in october saying the revolutionary guard had expanded what he called islamic resistance to half a million square kilometers connecting iran through iraq and syria to lebanon. the force runs the foreign military inclined assign operations. suleimani delegated diplomats to meet u.s. officials after the 9/11 attacks and they worked together against the taliban briefly. that relationship did not last long.

the u.s. and iran's priorities aligned in the fight against isil, but did not evolve beyond the battlefield. in april the u.s. designated iran's islamic revolutionary guard as a terrorist organization. suleimani had the full support of his government. the supreme loader ayatollah khamenei awarded him iran's highest honor last year. manymani has survived attempts on his life in iran and abroad. now his death will likely embolden the groups you supported. as iranian marks three days of mourning, many are looking to see what will happen next. more on thatget aspect of the story that is developing as we speak in real time. fresh air strikes of baghdad. our reporter is on the phone. what else do we know? heardfar what we have

from sources in the forces is there has been a strike north of baghdad. that leads to be coalition facility where the u.s. forces are based. is home to coalition who have been training iraqi forces. it is not clear how many people were killed. there is speculation these are faction of the mobilization forces. we are still waiting as it isre information

early in the morning in baghdad. information will be trickling in. peter: we will talk to you soon. thank you. let's bring in michael, a fellow at the huston institute and a former u.s. intelligence officer and advisor to iraqi security forces. when you are listening to donald trump about his justification and the back story, what were you thinking? we saw that intelligence before on different planning stages on attacks against americans. based on what the president said, he laid out the warnings for the supreme leader and for suleimani's militias. we are going to conduct more strikes, if provoked. we are seeing that tonight with the leaders being attacked and

killed. leader, that means are wondering if they are next. that is the message i heard from the president today. are youust to be clear, talking about what is happening right now in real time as we have this conversation north of baghdad? or is that something else? >> i'm talking about real time right now. peter: ok. we will drill down into that when we know the facts. >> no problem. peter: we have been talking to the united nations highest lawyer. during a long interview on this program, she told me there is no way the assassination of qassim suleimani is legal.

>> right. it is legal from a u.s. perspective because qassim suleimani was designated as a terrorist of a foreign terrorist organizationon. that makes him targetable. general iserrorist in i iraq threatening american an americanr h having death, h he is a target. yesterday y qassim suleimani, ad the leader ofof a terrorist gro, were killed in a drone strike. the united states conducted a legal drone strike against because theyani were designated terrorists. zarqawi, baghdadi is, others are in the same category. qassim suleimani was in the same category. peter: even if you are right and

i accept what you say, nationally in the united states and when it pertains to u.s. citizens operating in the theater of a complex, collateral damage. other people died. that has an aspect of criminal liability. liability should be qassim suleimani directing his militias in iraq to kill unarmed protesters. i would like to see this u.n. attorney looking at the legality to telltorney general your military and my leaders how to turn off the internet and kill innocent civilians. that is what major general qassim suleimani did in october. that is a terrorist offense. you're going am if

to ask me on the show. peter: that is why you are here. do you accept there is something ago,disconnect, 48 hours two weeks ago, the trump line was i am here to keep americans around the world safe. your country then assassinate somebody on par with your defense secretary on the sovereign territory of that dead persons ally. and now today your state department tells all americans in iraq, get out immediately. makeoes killing suleimani or keep americans safe in iraq? some of thatify language. the americans we are talking about are not part of the military or the state department. we are talking about entrepreneurs, people doing

business in iraq. there was a kidnapping thread. that is something qassim suleimani is very good out. that's another reason he was designated a terrorist. remember qassim suleimani kidnapped five americans in 2007 and brought them back to tehran in order to trade them for four operatives because they were killing iraqis and intimidating politicians and killing americans. the language is this, the president said we are willing to talk to tehran, but if you cross this redline, which was communicated, we are going to do something about it. abu killed an american when his militia launched 30 rockets at iraq, hurtingin iraqi soldiers. and under pressure from qassim

suleimani, instead of condemning that organization, he condemned the united states for defending itself and attacking the base on where they have no business. peter: i'm going to interrupt you. that is fair enough. that is a journal of record. i'm going to stop you because isms argument, what about- betrays a lack of nuance, perhaps on the part of the trump administration. it is not a binary issue. especially if you except perhaps the trump administration does not understand the nature of the person who you've killed. this man was not on a mission, he was the mission. the one guy if you want to be iraq to be free of

iran's malign influence, this is the guy you had to target. you had to target the most powerful man when he is not in iraq. these are the men iraqi politicians told officials and private, we can do what you want us to do but we can't because qassim suleimani won't let us. tell me politicians i've had to shake his hand because of i don't, i can disappear. talk about who these guys are. regardless of how trump says something, there is that a strategy in place that is solid within the intelligence trump is the messenger. the strategy is at that level. it is sound. this is the person that gave iraq back its freedom. if you look at the protesters cheering, if you look at the

handshakes and smiles i have received from iraqis and now with these reports we have not iraqis aret, that happy about this. iran's hold of iraq is being addressed by a president that may not say at the right way, that the strategy is in place. peter: always a pleasure to get your insight. michael, thank you so much. the attack in baghdad is an escalation of the crisis between the u.s. and iran. let's look at the timeline of event. an american contractor was killed. the u.s. blamed a pro-iranian group. the u.s. launched airstrikes against the military outpost in syria, killing 27 fighters. iran backed groups in iraq

stormed the u.s. embassy compound in baghdad, leading to a siege. we are joined now from washington. clearly there will be a reaction from the sources about donald trump. what is your reading of the past two hours? basically, was speaking to some evangelical groups. he did not say a lot new, frankly. he spoke for a brief couple of minutes about the strike and reaffirmed what he had said previously. we did hear from the national security advisor who did brief reporters on a phone call. he said the american military suleimani anding that he arrived from damascus. when he was pressed on that, he

said he would not reveal anything more other than the u.s. had intelligence suleimani was planning an attack against u.s. persons and diplomats. this goes to the question of, there are a lot of questions from journalists and lawmakers wanting to know what was the intelligence and what was the suppose it imminent threat that caused the administration to take this action they did. what is hanging over this is the war in iraq. we don't need to go through the history of that. we know that was a u.s. invasion based on a false premise of weapons of mass destruction. thatetting into all that, looms large in washington and around the world. it still does. that is why you see journalists like us and also lawmakers trying to pin down this

administration on what was the evidence and what was the imminent threat. so far the administration has given little hints but no detail on that. peter: what can we make of this troop deployment? >> in short, the pentagon is worried. clearly they are sending the 18th airborne division, one of the most seasoned u.s. army bragg,ons out of fort north carolina. it gives you a sense the pentagon and administration does not know what is coming next from iran. there are many thousands of assets already in the region. they needr they feel more troops to respond to what could be coming up next. peter: thanks very much. let's wrap up some of the top

stories. a shortage of medical equipment in india has been blamed for the death of nearly 1000 infants last year. an investigation was launched after the death of 100 babies last month and revealed hygienic conditions were so poor that pigs were living inside of the compound. reporter is at the hospital where the deaths occurred. >> this mother has just heard of the news of the death of her infant. her daughter was 15 days old. the doctors have not yet told baby's reason of her death. there are many such families in , 100hospital in india infants died. even though the local government has ordered a cleaning operation, the hospital is still dirty. has justof rubbish

been covered. have a look at this window outside of the maternity ward. there is that garbage bin. we have seen women cleaning the floors. that garbage bin, very close to ofre the intensive care unit the ailing infants is. the hospital authorities say the infants are dying because they come in a severe state, they are suffering from pneumonia and have low birth weight. the commission for child rights protection, there officials have also come here. they say they have seen pigs roaming around. they have seen the number of caregivers are fewer than those in need. and that life-sustaining equipment, ventilators have not been functioning. many of them, half of the ventilators in the hospital are

meant for infants and are not functional. earlier today we saw a truck full of garbage leaving the premises. the local government insists the over thenfant deaths years is going down. peter: an outbreak of pneumonia causingng an out -- is concern in china. all have been treated in isolation. 121 are under isolation. spain's electoral broke has ordered the removal of the president. he had already been banned from public office after and convicted of removing separatist banners. nine leaders have been jailed for their role. french police have shot dead a man after he killed one person and wounded two others.

randomlysay he lunged at other people in a park. the suspect was killed after fleeing to a neighboring suburb. he had received psychiatric treatment in the past. the sports news is next. favorite sonsn's returns. peter will tell you more. ♪

♪ peter: it is time for sports. here is peter. >> victims of the bushfires have

been on the minds of top tennis players at the at&t cup tournament. the crisis has seen several stars pledge to donate to relief efforts. among them nick who said he would give 200 australian dollars for every a's. he had 20 of them on friday in a straight set win. australia won in brisbane. >> i don't really care about the prize too much. we've got the ability to do something like that. we've got the most toxic air in the world. it is pretty sad. sorry. >> it's hard. we all feel it. >> the tournament organizers apologized after they played the romanian anthem by mistake before their match with belgium.

south africa's bowlers had the better opening day against england. they closed on 262 for 9. the stack revs into action for the first time on saturday. saudi arabia host the race after 11 years in south america. to defending champion spoke a reporter about this moment. >> this is a very big step for the sport in the middle east, to race andof the best the difficult race, to have it in saudi arabia. >> what does it mean to defend the title so close to home and to win it in the middle east? title is notthe

easy. we need to prepare. raceyear we win all the which we compete. strong.l is very we need to understand the rally is 12,000 kilometers. it is not just one or two days. it is 12 days. >> did you have second thoughts about taking part because of the blockade imposed on qatar? it is between two countries. it is a little bad situation. ok. this year,orts side, of saudi'she team competing in qatar and also the

competing in saudi, from the sports side, everything is going well. >> this addition will see a new terrain for the drivers. what challenges does that post? >> we know it is a difficult race. it is not easy. love that. >> how confident are you winning the race? .hat we need to respect all of the drivers. there is a local driver. drivers. other few names.

i am the best. [laughter] striker has scored his first goal in ac milan colors since 2012. he scored in a lost season with the club. 11th and the early signs are good after a goal in a 9-nil friendly win. heat have gotten back to their winning ways after a loss to washington earlier. the heat were up against the toronto raptors with a great defensive performance from bam ebayo in the wind. the heat extending their home record to 16 and one loss. in the western conference,

oklahoma city thunder made it four wins in a row. with 25 points in the victory over the san antonio spurs. the thunder taking this one 109-103. that is all the sports we have for now. stay tuned for more later. peter: lots more news on the website. know by now.ou you can get the latest on donald trump's condiments on the death of suleimani in baghdad. we will be back. ♪