A political party supporting Irish unity through armed action lamented the death of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by an American drone strike, and suggested he is now in heaven.
Republican Sinn Fein, a radical party formed after a 1986 split with Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, rejects the partition of Ireland and other compromises such as the Good Friday Agreement. Although the party denies any links to armed groups, its members have supported actions by dissident groups such as the Continuity IRA and Real IRA.
The group reacted to the United States killing Soleimani, whom the U.S. government has said was responsible for the deaths of 608 American troops in Iraq, by posting a picture of him on Twitter. There have long been links between Irish republicanism and Iranian radicalism. After the 1979 Iranian revolution, the new regime renamed the Tehran street where the British embassy was situated after the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.
He is depicted in his military uniform with a faint smile alongside Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps logos. At the bottom of the picture, “May his faithful soul be at the right hand of God” is written in English along with both Irish and Farsi.
— Republican Sinn Féin (@RepublicanSF) January 4, 2020
The Irish and Iranian flags are also included along with the political party’s website, which declares: “We advocate neutrality in respect to military alliances and power blocs and we feel a sense of solidarity with all peoples who are struggling for freedom and justice.”
Soleimani, 62, was killed last week in a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad International Airport along with Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, leader of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces. Soleimani was the longtime head of the Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for special operations in other countries.
U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said that the U.S. drone strike against Soleimani and Muhandis prevented the deaths of “hundreds of Americans.”
Democratic front-runner Joe Biden and other Democratic presidential candidates criticized the drone strike. The former vice president said that the attack against Soleimani could lead to “multiple Iranian attacks by multiple means on multiple targets.”
President Trump warned Iran on Sunday that the United States would conduct a “major retaliation” if Iranian leaders take action against Soleimani’s death.
