The killing of the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force is expected to have major repercussions for the Middle East region
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has denounced a series of US airstrikes that killed the chief of the elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, as “international terrorism,” warning the US of consequences for its “rogue adventurism.”
In a statement on Soleimani’s death, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that “revenge awaits the criminals who have stained their hands in his blood.”
He promised that the airstrike will only “double” Tehran’s resistance against rivals in the region.
Defense Minister Amir Hatami pledged to exact “a crushing revenge” for the Soleimani’s killing. “We will take revenge on all those involved and responsible for his assassination,” he said.
Mohsen Rezaee, a member of a council that advises Khamenei and a retired major general in the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), also sent out a tweet on Thursday night vowing swift retaliation for the assassination.
“Martyr [#Qasem Soleimani]… joined his martyred brothers, but we will take vigorous revenge on America,” he said.
A number of US airstrikes near Baghdad International Airport earlier on Thursday left Soleimani and several Iraqi militia leaders dead, with two other Iraqi commanders reportedly arrested by US Marines.
The Pentagon later confirmed the strikes, stating they were “aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.”
A number of American lawmakers also weighed in, some engaging in sabre-rattling, while others, such as Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), sounded the alarm about the prospect of a “massive regional war.”
An Iranian military spokesman said the country’s top security body had called a meeting to discuss the “criminal attack” that killed the Quds Force commander.
Russia said it considers the assassination as “an adventurous move that will lead to an escalation of tension throughout the region,” according to a foreign ministry statement.
“Soleimani served devotedly the cause of defending the national interests of Iran. We express our sincere condolences to the Iranian people,” the short statement added.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Beijing “consistently opposes the use of force in international relations,” adding that peace and stability in the Middle East must be upheld.
