Iran vowed to seek revenge on the United States on Friday after an American airstrike killed one of the country's most powerful military and political figures.
The U.S. bombing near Baghdad airport killed Qassim Suleimani, the high-profile commander of Iran's secretive Quds Force and sometimes described as the country's second most influential person.
"The great nation of Iran will take revenge for this heinous crime," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tweeted after the news was confirmed.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a "harsh retaliation is waiting for the criminals whose filthy hands spilled his blood." The country's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, called the U.S. strike "an act of state terrorism and a violation of Iraq's sovereignty."
Suleimani was one of the most influential figures in the Middle East, having developed a network of powerful militia groups whose clandestine reach stretched into Iraq, Syria and beyond.
His death is a major escalation in the recent tensions between Washington and Tehran, and on Friday morning local time the State Department urged all U.S. citizens "to depart Iraq immediately" because of the increased risk.
The strike was directed by President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the administration to immediately brief lawmakers. She said the bombing was carried out without "authorization for use of military force" against Iran and without the consultation of Congress.
Multiple domestic U.S. law enforcement agencies said they were keeping a watchful eye on events overseas and ready to react as necessary.
The strike was met with caution by the United Kingdom, one of the U.S.'s biggest allies that in the past has backed it in the Middle East and elsewhere.
"We have always recognized the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds Force led by Qassim Suleimani," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. "Following his death, we urge all parties to de-escalate. Further conflict is in none of our interests."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is cutting short his visit to Greece and was due back in Israel Friday.
As well as Iran's most senior general, Suleimani also held huge political clout, with many considering his influence second only to that of the supreme leader himself.
His Quds Force is a unit in Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and classified as a terrorist group by the U.S. and others.
The Iranian militias he cultivated are "responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more," according to the Department of Defense confirming his death early Friday local time.
Hours after Suleimani's death, Iran announced that Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani would replace him as head of the Quds Force, according to the country's semi-official ISNA news agency.
The U.S. bombing near Baghdad airport killed Qassim Suleimani, the high-profile commander of Iran's secretive Quds Force and sometimes described as the country's second most influential person.
"The great nation of Iran will take revenge for this heinous crime," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tweeted after the news was confirmed.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a "harsh retaliation is waiting for the criminals whose filthy hands spilled his blood." The country's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, called the U.S. strike "an act of state terrorism and a violation of Iraq's sovereignty."
Suleimani was one of the most influential figures in the Middle East, having developed a network of powerful militia groups whose clandestine reach stretched into Iraq, Syria and beyond.
His death is a major escalation in the recent tensions between Washington and Tehran, and on Friday morning local time the State Department urged all U.S. citizens "to depart Iraq immediately" because of the increased risk.
The strike was directed by President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the administration to immediately brief lawmakers. She said the bombing was carried out without "authorization for use of military force" against Iran and without the consultation of Congress.
Multiple domestic U.S. law enforcement agencies said they were keeping a watchful eye on events overseas and ready to react as necessary.
The strike was met with caution by the United Kingdom, one of the U.S.'s biggest allies that in the past has backed it in the Middle East and elsewhere.
"We have always recognized the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds Force led by Qassim Suleimani," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. "Following his death, we urge all parties to de-escalate. Further conflict is in none of our interests."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is cutting short his visit to Greece and was due back in Israel Friday.
As well as Iran's most senior general, Suleimani also held huge political clout, with many considering his influence second only to that of the supreme leader himself.
His Quds Force is a unit in Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and classified as a terrorist group by the U.S. and others.
The Iranian militias he cultivated are "responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more," according to the Department of Defense confirming his death early Friday local time.
Hours after Suleimani's death, Iran announced that Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani would replace him as head of the Quds Force, according to the country's semi-official ISNA news agency.
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