Iran still seeking to kill Trump over Soleimani’s assassination, IRGC commander says
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Salma Hossein
- . February 26, 2023
- . Update: February 26, 2023 2:55 pm
In his televised remarks, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace unit commander, General Amirali Hajjizadeh, on Friday warned Iran was still seeking to kill former US President Donald Trump, his secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former US general Kenneth McKenzie, and “the military commanders who gave the order” to assassinate Qassem Soleimani, who led the overseas arm of the IRGC.
Tehran has repeatedly pledged to avenge the killing of the top Iranian military commander in a US drone strike on Iraq’s Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020. Trump had ordered the strike in response to scores of attacks on US interests in Iraq that his administration blamed on Iran.
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In serious retaliation, five days after the assassination, Iran fired missiles on January 8 at the Ain al-Assad airbase in western Iraq that housed American troops. None were killed in the attack, but Washington at the time claimed dozens encountered traumatic brain damage.
As the attack on the US air base was seen as insufficient retaliation, Iranian officials have often reiterated their promise to avenge Soleimani’s death, Alarabiya News reported.
While Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi – on the third anniversary of Soleimani’s killing last month – said revenge for the top military commander was “certain”, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last November said the country would “never forget” the assassination, highlighting Tehran’s commitment to avenging his death.
“It will be done in its own time, in its own place,” Khamenei further mentioned.
