Iran's Revolutionary Guard vows to avenge Qassem Soleimani's killing

The commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has vowed to avenge the killing of military leader Qassem Soleimani in January this year. Gen. Hossein Salami said that the IRGC, designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States, will target everyone involved in the killing of Soleimani in an “honourable” retaliation.

“Mr. Trump! Our revenge for martyrdom of our great general is obvious, serious and real,” the guard’s website quoted Gen. Hossein Salami as saying.

Politico had reported on September 13 that US intelligence officials believe Iranian officials are planning to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa to avenge the death of Soleimani. After the US media report, US President Donald Trump threatened Iran that any attack would be met with a response of "1,000 times greater in magnitude.”

Trump tweeted that any retaliatory attack against the United States will be met with an “attack on Iran that will be 1,000 times greater in magnitude!” He also justified that the killing of Soleimani was a preemptive one to prevent a future attack on US troops. Trump has not explicitly confirmed or denied the report which is heavily based on intelligence sources. 

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US-Iran relations

On January 3, the United States announced that it killed Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport. The two countries have been at loggerheads for a long time, but Washington’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), also known as Iran nuclear deal worsened their relations. 

The US-Iran relations have hit the nadir as Washington has been pushing for an extension of an arms embargo on Iran which is set to expire in October. However, UN Security Council president Indonesia rejected the US move to trigger a return of all sanctions on Iran, saying it was not in the position to take further action.

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