Allies? Coalition?

Says volumes about the utter lack of consultation, coordination, between the US and any broader coalition of any allies at all.

Pompeo: European response to Suleimani killing 'not helpful enough'

Mike Pompeo has expressed disappointment with European reaction to the US killing of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani, suggesting that the UK, France and Germany had not been sufficiently supportive.

The US secretary of state compared the European response unfavourably with US “partners in the region”, a likely reference to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which Pompeo had consulted after the Suleimani assassination.

“I spent the last day-and-a-half, two days, talking to partners in the region, sharing with them what we were doing, why we were doing it, seeking their assistance. They’ve all been fantastic,” Pompeo told Fox TV. “And then talking to our partners in other places that haven’t been quite as good.

“Frankly, the Europeans haven’t been as helpful as I wish that they could be. 

"The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well. 

"Qassem Suleimani led and his IRGC [Revolutionary Guard] led assassination campaigns in Europe. 

"This was a good thing for the entire world, and we are urging everyone in the world to get behind what the United States is trying to do to get the Islamic Republic of Iran to simply behave like a normal nation.”

European reaction to the drone strike killing of Suleimani and Iraqi Shia militants travelling with him in Baghdad, has been cautious and apprehensive. 

While noting Suleimani’s destructive role in the region, European governments have called for restraint.

Policy towards Iran has been a deeply divisive issue between the US and Europe since Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 multilateral agreement with Iran that imposed strict limits on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. 

European officials have blamed Trump’s efforts to strangle Iran economically for the rising tensions in the Persian Gulf.