Iranian Speaker holds Trump directly accountable for killing Qasem Soleimani
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Hashim Sheikh
- . January 10, 2023
- . Update: January 10, 2023 4:09 pm
The Speaker of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Parliament held former United States (US) President Donald Trump directly accountable for killing Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, an IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) division responsible for a military operation.
Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf reportedly said that Trump and all his “accomplices” must be held legally accountable for the assassination of Soleimani in 2020. The Speaker termed the assassination of Soleimani a “criminal act.”
While attending the 13th session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly in Turkey on Monday, he said that the act of killing Soleimani was a “flagrant and absolute instance of state terrorism.”
On January 3, 2020, Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. Reportedly, the strike was ordered by Donald Trump. After the assassination of Soleimani, Trump tweeted an image of the American flag. Soleimani’s killing increased tensions between Washington and Tehran.
IRGC said that Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed by the US. Soleimani was regarded as the most powerful military figure by Iranians and the Iranian leaders. Subsequently, Adel Abdul Mahdi, Former Prime Minister of Iraq, also condemned the “assassination” of Soleimani.
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In 2020, Trump reportedly said the general was “directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of people.” He called the commander a terrorist. He held him responsible for the deaths of hundreds of United States (US) personnel.
Recently, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that Trump and former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo must be held accountable for their criminal activity.
This year, Iran’s Foreign Ministry blacklisted 51 US individuals for their “roles” in Soleimani’s assassination in 2020. Trump and Pompeo were previously blacklisted by Iran.
The Chairman of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council, Faiq Zidane, said the council also issued an arrest warrant for Trump over the assassination of Soleimani.
