Iran vows ‘harsh retaliation’ after U.S. air strike

IRAN has vowed “harsh retaliation” for a US air strike near Baghdad’s airport that killed Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani, the head of the country’s elite Quds Force.

The killing marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Iran, which has veered from one crisis to another since President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.

Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), described the “elimination” of Soleimani as an “irreparable blow to the clerical regime”.

“While the prospects for the ruling theocracy’s overthrow is within reach, it is time for the regime’s armed forces to refrain from firing on the Iranian people, lay down their weapons and surrender,” said Rajavi.

“The armed forces’ patriotic personnel must join the people of Iran.”

The US has urged its citizens to leave Iraq “immediately” and the US State Department said the embassy in Baghdad, which was attacked by Iranbacked militia and other protesters earlier this week, is closed with all consular services suspended.

More than 5000 American troops are based in Iraq, where they mainly train Iraqi forces and help to combat militants of Daesh.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that a “harsh retaliation is waiting” for the US following the air strike, calling Soleimani the “international face of resistance”. He declared three days of public mourning for the general’s death.

Iran also summoned the Swiss charges d’affaires, who represents US interests in Tehran, to protest about the killing. Soleimani’s death, and any forceful retaliation by Iran, could ignite a conflict that engulfs the whole region.