‘US will pay for Soleimani assassination for years to come’, says Iran President
Iran President Hassan Rouhani has said the assassination of general Qassem Soleimani will “never be forgotten” as he compared it to the US-led coup that reinstated the Shah in 1953 and threatened a lengthy retaliation.
A US airstrike on Friday killed the head of the Quds Force, Soleimani, widely considered the second most influential person in Iran, dramatically escalating the tension between the US and the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump said it was to prevent an “imminent and sinister attack” on US personnel in the region.
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However, Rouhani has promised “harsh retaliation” for the airstrike.
“This crime that the US committed . . . is similar to the coup attempt . . . and similar to the downing of Airbus passenger flight in the Gulf [in 1988],” Rouhani said on Saturday in a meeting with the family of Soleimani. “These crimes will never be forgotten.”
Trump said the US “did not want to start a war” with Iran.
However it has heightened tensions across the region and sparked fears it could trigger a conflict between Iran and its regional proxies and the US and its allies.
Iranian leaders have vowed to take revenge and continue with controversial policies in the Middle East.
Rouhani suggested Iran’s response could be long-lasting.
“Americans did not realise what a great mistake they made and that they will pay for the consequences of this crime not only today but also in the years to come.”
In 1953, the coup against the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mossadegh ignited the public hostility toward the US.
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iranian revolutionaries seized the US embassy and held 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days to prevent Washington from interfering in the newly fledged Islamic republic.
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Iran has also not forgiven the US for shooting down a passenger flight that was wrongly identified as a fighter jet in 1988, killing 300 passengers and crew.
Soleimani’s four-day funeral got underway today as thousands gathered in the streets of Baghdad to mourn the death of the 62-year-old.
Crowds carried militia insignias, posters with slogans reading “we will never forget”, with chants of “death to America”.