Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared, on Friday, a three-day mourning period after the killing of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the elite Quds Force and architect of Iran’s spreading military influence in the Middle East, in a US attack targeting him near Baghdad International Airport.
Khamenei stressed that 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.
Earlier Friday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced, in a statement, that Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces were killed.
On the other hand, the Pentagon confirmed that Soleimani was killed, explaining: “the strike that killed him aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.
The Pentagon 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.”
“Trump, the president who promised to prevent any further US war in the Middle East, has just announced this war,” Malley added, noting that the strike, which the White House administration claims aimed at deterring Iranian attacks, will definitely increase these attacks, according to RIA-Novosti.
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