As Trump tweeted his own threat, his administration submitted a document required under the War Powers Act of 1973 [§ 1543; § 1544. Congressional action], which requires formal notification to Congress within 48 hours of ["]military-style["] action.  

Three government officials confirmed that the notice was delivered late Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the still-secret document is classified. A senior Democratic aide told USA TODAY it was unclear if the White House would release an unclassified version.

archived
Kicking a Gift Horse in the Teeth, Aug 2019

The attack on our embassy in Baghdad is horrifying but predictable.

Trump has rendered America impotent in the Middle East. No one fears us, no one listens to us.

America has been reduced to huddling in safe rooms, hoping the bad guys will go away.

What a disgrace.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 31, 2019

"Soleimani was an enemy of the United States," tweeted Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. "That's not a question. The question is this -- as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization [?!], the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off [?!] a potential massive regional war?"

....targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran &  the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2020

In 1951, Iran's oil industry was nationalized with near-unanimous support of Iran's parliament in a bill introduced by Mossadegh, who led the oil commission of the parliament. Iran's oil had been controlled by the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) under license, and was only a source of little revenue for the country. Popular discontent with the AIOC began in the late 1940s as a large segment of Iran's public and a number of politicians saw the company as exploitative and a vestige of British imperialism. Despite Mosaddegh's popular support, Britain was unwilling to negotiate its single most valuable foreign asset, and instigated a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil to pressure Iran economically. Initially, Britain mobilized its military to seize control of the Abadan oil refinery, the world's largest, but Prime Minister Clement Attlee opted instead to tighten the economic boycott while using Iranian agents to undermine Mosaddegh's government. With a change to more conservative governments in both Britain and the United States, Churchill and the U.S. Eisenhower administration decided to overthrow Iran's government though the previous U.S. Truman administration had opposed a coup.
[...]
According to the CIA's declassified documents and records, some of the most feared mobsters in Tehran were hired by the CIA to stage pro-Shah riots on 19 August. Other CIA-paid men were brought into Tehran in buses and trucks, and took over the streets of the city. Many people were killed during and as a direct result of the conflict. Mosaddegh was arrested, tried and convicted of treason by the Shah's military court. On 21 December 1953, he was sentenced to three years in jail, then placed under house arrest in Ahmad Abad for the remainder of his life. ...

Persian soldiers chase rioters during civil unrest in Tehran, August 1953. On August 19, 1953, democratically-elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the CIA and British intelligence, after having nationalized the oil industry. The Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was re-installed in the primary position of power. Massive protests broke out across the nation, leaving almost 300 dead in firefights in the streets of Tehran. (Photo credit should read /AFP/Getty Images)
[...]
The coup attempt began on August 15 but was swiftly thwarted. Mossadegh made dozens of arrests. Gen. Fazlollah Zahedi, a top conspirator, went into hiding, and the shah fled the country. The CIA, believing the coup to have failed, called it off.

"Operation has been tried and failed and we should not participate in any operation against Mossadegh which could be traced back to US," CIA headquarters wrote to its station chief in Iran in a newly declassified cable sent on Aug. 18, 1953. "Operations against Mossadegh should be discontinued."

That is the cable which Kermit Roosevelt, top CIA officer in Iran, purportedly and famously ignored, according to Malcolm Byrne, who directs the U.S.-Iran Relations Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. ...

Think of the gross over-reaction of the US populace to the tragedy of the twin towers - more people die in car accidents or gun crimes every year - so imagine what it will be like when that trauma is multiplied by 1,000. That is the reality of the Middle East under US domination, and Trump has just placed himself four square in the firing line.

An escalation to nuclear war cannot be ruled out, and then all bets are off as to where it will all end up, in the short, medium and long term. Global warming promises a slow mass extinction event. Trump promises it to be almost instantaneous.  No need for a meteorite this time around. Trumpian hubris can accomplish it all by itself.

Index of Frank's Diaries

#Iran at least 1 millions have gone out to say goodbye to general #Soleimani in #Ahvaz.
#Iran. pic.twitter.com/WlucdiSl08

— Leonardo Avila (@Leo58883) January 5, 2020

This is stunning - #Iraq prime minister tells parliament US troops should leave. Says @realDonaldTrump called him to ask him to mediate with #Iran and then ordered drone strike on Soleimani. Says Soleimani carrying response to Saudi initiative to defuse tension when he was hit.

— jane arraf (@janearraf) 5. Januar 2020

Getting whacked by the Americans on a peace negotiation they themselves had called for counts, I think.

!!!!! that part. you military niggas will woe is me this shit, but she said what she said. pic.twitter.com/fBIVZFhDfo

— anti toy story 4 account (@PlZZAPLANETS) January 5, 2020

shade of Cassius Clay

"America did many terrible things during its reign as global hegemon. But we clearly stood for global rule of law, for a system that imposed common rules on everyone, ourselves included." -- @PaulKrugman https://t.co/NMaAhwIiw5

— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) January 7, 2020

wut: "I concur with [Hannah-Jones] that the plantations of antebellum America are better called 'forced labor camps,' that black abolitionists warrant status as Founding Fathers, and that 'no people has a greater claim' than African Americans to the Stars and Stripes.

"I would add that neither the white settlers at Jamestown, nor the enslaved Africans sold there, nor the author of the Declaration, nor the African Americans denied the rights enumerated therein, nor any of the people celebrated on national holidays has any greater claim to this country's flag than the most recently naturalized American of any race, color, or creed. Neither white nor black Americans belong at the center of U.S. history, because no racial group belongs there more or less than any other."