The body of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force commander General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed on Friday in a US airstrike in Baghdad under the order of President Donald Trump, arrived in Iranian territories, according to state TV.
[embed]https://twitter.com/alalamarabic/status/1213679662892797952[/embed]
The funeral ceremonies planned for Soleimani will take place in several locations in Iran.
Soleimani’s body was airlifted from Iraq to the southwestern city of Ahvaz.
It is worth mentioning, Soleimani survived several assassination attempts by Western, Israeli and Arab agencies over the past two decades.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared, on Friday, a three-day mourning period after the killing of Soleimani.
Khamenei stressed that “harsh retaliation is waiting” for the US, adding that Soleimani’s killing will double the motivation of the resistance against the United States and Israel.
On the other hand, the Pentagon confirmed that Soleimani was killed, explaining: “the strike that killed him aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.
It added that US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Soleimani to protect US personnel abroad.
The Pentagon stated that Soleimani and the elite Quds Force was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.
According to Russia Today, Robert Malley who served on US former President Obama’s National Security Council, said: “Whether President Trump intended it or not, it is, for all practical purposes, a declaration of war.”
The escalation between the U.S. and Iran ramped up after Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups broke into the US Embassy in Baghdad last week following US air raids against Tehran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia bases in retaliation for missile attacks that killed a US contractor in northern Iraq last week.
Follow the latest news on Google News
