Iran vows ‘harsh revenge’ for US killing of top commander

General Qasem Soleimani commanded Iranian military operations in the region (AFP)

Iran threatened to retaliate after a US air strike in Baghdad on Friday killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force and architect of its growing military influence in the Middle East.   

 Soleimani, a 62-year-old general, was regarded as the second most powerful figure in Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.   

 The overnight attack, authorised by President Donald Trump, marked a dramatic escalation in a “shadow war” in the Middle East between Iran and the United States and its allies, principally Israel and Saudi Arabia.   

 Top Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an adviser to Soleimani, was also killed in the attack.   

 Longrunning US-Iranian hostilities escalated sharply last week with an attack on the US embassy in Iraq by pro-Iranian militiamen following a US air raid on the Kataib Hezbollah militia, founded by Muhandis.   

 Responding to Friday’s attack, Iraq’s prime minister said Washington had violated a deal for keeping US troops in his country.   

 Israel put its army on high alert and US allies in Europe including Britain, France and Germany voiced concerns about an escalation in tensions.   

 The Pentagon said the “US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qassem Soleimani”. Trump ordered the strike to disrupt future Iranian attack plans, it said.   

 US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Soleimani was killed in a drone strike. The US embassy in Baghdad urged all American citizens to depart Iraq immediately.   

 Khamenei said harsh revenge awaited the “criminals” who killed Soleimani and said his death would double resistance against the United States and Israel.  
BAGHDAD REUTERS, 3 Jan, 2020