Former CIA Director John Brennan is condemning Friday’s assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, attracting scorn from conservatives who say the former Barack Obama aide is siding with an evil regime.
During Mr. Obama’s first term, four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated in Iran in 2010-12 when Mr. Brennan was Mr. Obama’s White House counterterrorism adviser. Iran accused Israel’s Mossad intelligence arm of masterminding the killings.
On Friday, an ambush and gun battle killed leading Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
“This was a criminal act & highly reckless,” Mr. Brennan said in a tweet that implied President Trump was somehow involved. “It risks lethal retaliation & a new round of regional conflict. Iran leaders would be wise to wait for the return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits.”
Mr. Brennan has been a relentless critic of Mr. Trump from his perches at Twitter and MSNBC. He has repeatedly implied Mr. Trump is a Russian spy or some type of agent — without proof.
Mr. Brennan seemed to echo the Iranian regime, which said, “Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist.”
Iran’s harsh Islamic rulers have vowed to destroy Israel.
Conservative critics of Iran’s terrorist-supporting regime took to Twitter to respond to rebut Mr. Brennan.
National security expert Jim Hanson said, “So taking out Hitler’s rocket engineers would have been a no no? Or the scientists who made Saddam’s gas for killing Kurds. The Mullahs of Iran run a terror regime. You helped Obama & Biden fund their killing.”
This is a reference to the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal that suspended its weapons program for at least 10 years and brought the U.S. delivery of 1.7 billion in cash to Tehran, assets that had been frozen.
Mr. Trump exited the accord and imposed new economic sanctions in a bid to isolate the exporter of terrorism.
Ari Fleischer, who served as White House press secretary under President George W. Bush, tweeted: “Quick summary: It was OK when Obama droned Americans we viewed as threats. It’s not ok when Israel (or whoever did it) kills an Iranian official working on getting nuclear bombs.”
Tom Fitton, president of the conservative watchdog Judicial Watch, tweeted, “Brennan, who seditiously target @realDonaldTrump also advising Iran terrorist regime via @Twitter.”
Several critics brought up the 1799 Logan Act, a little-used law that makes it illegal for a private citizen to collude with a foreign government to oppose official U.S. policy.
The FBI targeted Mr. Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, for possible prosecution because he discussed Obama policies with the Russian ambassador during the transition.
“Some enterprising journalist should ask John Brennan if this tweet constitutes a Logan Act violation by John Brennan,” tweeted Omri Ceren, national security adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican.
In May 2018, Mr. Brennan strongly opposed Mr. Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the Israeli capital of Jerusalem.
He tweeted, “Deaths in Gaza result of utter disregard of Messrs Trump & Netanyahu for Palestine rights & homeland. By moving Embassy to Jerusalem, Trump played politics, destroyed US peacemaker role.”
This year, the Trump administration brokered landmark peace deals, the Abraham Accords, between Israel and three Arab states, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.
In January, Mr. Brennan blasted Mr. Trump for the drone strike in Iraq that killed Qasem Soleimani, the mastermind of brutal Iranian incursions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
“Gang of 8 in Congress is entitled to ALL intelligence on Soleimani killing,” Mr. Brennan tweeted. ” @realDonaldTrump ’s lies, reckless jingoism, and incompetence disgrace the office of the presidency. Right-wing ideologues in Administration & media steering Trump have put our Nation in grave danger.”
• Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com.
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