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‘Act of international terrorism’: Iran vows ‘vigorous revenge’ on US after Quds Force chief killed in US airstrike
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif denounced a series of US airstrikes that killed the chief of the elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, as international terrorism, warning the US about consequences of its “rogue adventurism.”
The US' act of international terrorism, targeting & assassinating General Soleimani—THE most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al—is extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation.The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 3, 2020
Mohsen Rezaee, a member of a council that advises Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a retired major general in the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), also sent out a tweet on Thursday night vowing swift retaliation to 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’s International Airport earlier on Thursday left Soleimani and several Iraqi militia leaders dead, with two other Iraqi commanders reported arrested by US Marines. The Pentagon later confirmed the strikes, stating they were “aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.”
Also on rt.com Iran Quds Force commander killed in US strike on convoy at Baghdad Airport
The US assassination strikes prompted an outpouring of commentary on social media, with many warning the air raid could be a prelude to a third World War.
Me: Let’s log onto Twitter shall we!*sees WWIII, World War 3, World War III, Bin Laden, Iranians and Middle East trending simultaneously* pic.twitter.com/5JcjA37Nhg
— Certifiably Sub-Par (@Michael_AC23) January 3, 2020
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.”
“If Iran continues to attack America and our allies, they should pay the heaviest of prices, which includes the destruction of their oil refineries,” Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said in a tweet.
If Iran continues to attack America and our allies, they should pay the heaviest of prices, which includes the destruction of their oil refineries.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 3, 2020
An Iranian military spokesman, speaking to the semi-official Fars News agency on condition of anonymity, said the country’s top security body had called a meeting to discuss the “criminal attack” that killed the Quds Force commander.
The Quds Force is the IRGC’s foreign special operations division, which Soleimani headed up since 1998.
