"U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed a United Nations report claiming that an American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January represented a violation of international law.
The report was presented on Thursday by Agnes Callamard to the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, which counts among its members states with human rights records, such as Libya, Venezuela, and Sudan...
Pompeo said in a statement late Thursday that the U.S. rejected her report and 'opinions.'
'Ms. Callamard's conclusions are spurious,' he said. 'The strike that killed Gen. Soleimani was in response to an escalating series of armed attacks in preceding months by the Islamic Republic of Iran and militias it supports on U.S. forces and interests in the Middle East region.'
Pompeo said the strike on Baghdad International Airport was carried out 'to deter Iran from launching or supporting further attacks against the United States or U.S. interests, and to degrade the capabilities of the Qods Force.' He said Callamard 'gives more cause to distrust U.N. human rights mechanisms.'
Pompeo added, 'The United States is transparent regarding the international law basis for the strike. As we outlined in a January 8, 2020, letter to the UN Security Council submitted in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, the strike was undertaken in the exercise of the United States' inherent right of self-defense. As the President said on January 2, 'We will always protect our diplomats, service members, and all Americans.'..."