Iran general warns U.S.: Military set to respond
Tensions remain high in last days of Trump presidency
Tehran, Iran The top commander of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said Friday that his country was fully prepared to respond to any U.S. military pressure as tensions between Tehran and Washington remain high in the waning days of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Gen. Hossein Salami spoke at a ceremony at Tehran University commemorating the upcoming one-year anniversary of the U.S. drone strike in Baghdad that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who headed the expeditionary Quds force, Jan. 3, 2020.
At the time, Iran retaliated by launching a ballistic missile strike on a military base in Iraq that caused brain concussion injuries to about 100 U.S. troops. Washington and Tehran came dangerously close to war as the crisis escalated.
“Today, we have no problem, concern or apprehension toward encountering any powers. We will give our final words to our enemies on the battlefield,” Salami said, without mentioning the U.S. directly. Several top Iranian officials, along with Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese allies and members of Soleimani’s family, were in attendance.
Soleimani’s replacement, Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, said at the ceremony that Iran was not afraid of confronting “powers,” again without naming the U.S. He also warned that “freedom seekers” within the U.S. could retaliate for the attack that killed Soleimani, telling America that “inside your own home, there might be those who want to respond to the crime that you committed.”
The head of Iran’s judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, said all those who had a role in Soleimani’s killing will not be able to “escape law and justice,” even if they were a U.S. president.
Also, Iran’s Foreign Ministry tweeted that Iran will not rest until perpetrators of Soleimani’s killing are brought to justice.
“By committing a craven act of terror against Gen Soleimani, the US violated int’l law & the UN Charter in a blatant violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” said a post on the ministry’s Twitter account. “The US’ lawlessness in full show. #Iran won’t rest until bringing those responsible to justice.”