The man chosen to succeed Qassem Soleimani as leader of the Quds Force warned of revenge against the United States after the military leader’s death.
Speaking the same day as thousands of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran as part of Soleimani’s funeral, Gen. Esmail Ghaani, the new commander of the Quds Force, called Soleimani a martyr and vowed to “rid the region of America.”
“God the Almighty has promised to take martyr Soleimani’s revenge,” Ghaani said, according to Reuters. “Certainly, actions will be taken.”
Crowds in Tehran chanted “death to America,” and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wept openly on Monday, days after President Trump said he had a list of 52 Iranian targets, including cultural sites, that might be attacked should Iran retaliate for Soleimani’s death.
“Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!” Trump said on Twitter.
Soleimani, 62, was killed last week in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad along with Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, leader of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces. The White House’s Iran adviser Brian Hook said that the strike against Soleimani stopped the deaths of “hundreds of Americans.”
