Pompeo Hits ‘Spurious’ UN Report That Claims Soleimani’s Killing Was Unlawful

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, on July 1, 2020. Manuel Balce Cenata/AP/AFP via Getty Images

GENEVA—U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticized an independent UN human rights expert’s report insisting an American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January was a “watershed” event in the use of drones and amounted to a violation of international law.

The report presented by Agnes Callamard to the UN-backed Human Rights Council on Thursday chronicled events around the death of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and the legal implications of his killing as part of a broader look on the use of drone strikes.