The United States has committed an “act of war” against Iran by killing Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, says Iran's UN ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi, who also threatened retaliation.
General Soleimani was killed during a drone attack against a pro-Iranian Iraqi paramilitary convoy in Baghdad.
“The Americans have started a military conflict by killing one of our main generals in a terrorist attack. What can Iran do? We can’t stay silent, we have to act and we will act,” he said.
Ravanchi said “it was in fact an act of war against the Iranian people by the United States” when appearing on CNN on Friday evening.
“There will certainly be retaliation, strong retaliation,” he continued. “The response to military action is military action. By who, when and where, the future will tell us.”
Soleimani was the man behind Iran’s Middle-East strategy. He died in an American drone attack in Baghdad on Friday, along with Abou Mehdi al-Mouhandid, Iranian contact and second-in-command for Hachd al-Chaabi (coalition of pro-Iranian Iraqi paramilitary groups). The attack has plunged the world into uncertainty and there is fear of escalation and further conflict in the region.
Tehran has promised “strong retaliation at the right time and the right moment” to respond to their general’s death. 10 people in total were killed in the attack, five Iraqis and five Iranians.
The Brussels Times
