Iran has vowed “harsh retaliation” for a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad’s airport that killed Tehran’s top general and the architect of its interventions across the Middle East. The United States is urging its citizens to leave Iraq “immediately.”
The Trump administration on Friday defended its targeted killing of Iran’s top military official, saying he was planning attacks that would have left “hundreds” of Americans dead.
“There was an imminent attack,” Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo said on Fox News. “What was sitting before us was his travels throughout the region and his efforts to make a significant strike against Americans. There would have been many Muslims killed as well — Iraqis, people in other countries as well.”Suleimani was killed by multiple U.S. drone strikes late Thursday as he drove in a convoy from the Baghdad airport, according to a military officer familiar with the details.
The brazen attack immediately inflamed tensions in the region. Already, Washington and Tehran have been engaged in a steadily simmering tit-for-tat conflict since Trump withdrew from the 2015 landmark Iran nuclear deal and reimposed harsh sanctions that have battered Tehran’s economy.The United States urged citizens to leave Iraq “immediately” and closed consular services at the embassy in Baghdad. Some flights to the country were canceled.
His first public comments were made on Twitter, where he complained that Suleimani should have been killed years ago. “Harsh retaliation is waiting” for the United States, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned in Tehran as he declared three days of mourning and appointed Maj. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, Suleimani’s deputy, to replace him. Iranian experts said Suleimani had already groomed a new generation of fighters and suggested the void he leaves might be quickly filled.
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