TEHRAN, January 3: Top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed on Friday in a US strike on Baghdad’s international airport, confirmed Iran and the U.S, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the two countries.
The Pentagon said U.S President Donald Trump ordered Soleimani’s “killing”, after a pro-Iran mob this week laid siege to the US embassy. Following Soleimani’s death, Trump tweeted an image of the US flag without any further explanation.
In the wake of the assassination, the US embassy in Baghdad urged all citizens to depart Iraq immediately.
“Due to heightened tensions in Iraq and the region, the US embassy urges American citizens to heed the January 2020 travel advisory and depart Iraq immediately.”
“US citizens should depart via airline while possible, and failing that, to other countries via land,” it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to exact “severe revenge” for Soleimani’s death.
“Martyrdom was the reward for his ceaseless efforts in all these years,” Khamenei said on his Twitter account in reference to Soleimani, also declaring three days of mourning.
“With him gone, God willing, his work and his path will not be stopped, but severe revenge awaits the criminals who bloodied their foul hands with his blood and other martyrs’ in last night’s incident,” he added.-Agencies
