Iran

Susan Rice: Risk of Iranian Retaliation Could Last ‘Years'

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Speaking at Wellesley College Thursday, former President Barack Obama's national security advisor gave her take on the tension between the U.S. and Iran.

Susan Rice was at the Massachusetts school to promote her new memoir, "Tough Love." She was also asked about President Donald Trump's decision to kill one of Iran's top leaders, Qassem Soleimani.

"Which, by the way, I cannot believe the chairman of the joint chiefs and the secretary of defense put on the menu," Rice said of the option.

Rice says the way Iran responded is significant — hitting hangars, not barracks, and sending a warning so the U.S. could be prepared.

"You may think, 'Well, that's good, bullet dodged, you know we got Soleimani, they got some hangars, that's a good deal,'" Rice said. "If you think that, you don't know Iran."

Rice believes Iran will continue to retaliate in other ways, using proxies, cyber attacks and potentially even terrorists.

"And so for months, if not years, we need to be ready for the very real prospect that their retaliation will come in multiple forms in multiple places," she said.

Rice says we are far less safe than we were because of a risk of retaliation, having to suspend the fight against ISIS and knowing that Iranians will now exercise no restraint on their nuclear program.

Rice had a final message for those who think that a war with Iran would be quick and easy.

"You've got another thing coming," she said. "This problem is not behind us."

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