Iran warns U.S. of 'harsh retaliation' for killing of top general Qassem Soleimani


Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the U.S. on Friday that a "harsh retaliation is waiting" after U.S. drone strikes killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, and at least six other people right after Soleimani landed at Baghdad International Airport on Friday morning. Khamenei called Soleimani, 62, the "international face of resistance" and ordered three days of public mourning. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also warned of reprisals for America's "act of international terrorism" and said the U.S. "bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism."
Soleimani's "martyrdom" blanketed Iranian media on Friday, BBC News reports, and one Tehran University professor, Seyed Mohammad Marandi, repeatedly warned all Western civilians to leave the Middle East. Iranian state TV also called President Trump's order to kill Soleimani "the biggest miscalculation by the U.S." since World War II.
"The killing, and any forceful retaliation by Iran, could ignite a conflict that engulfs the whole region, endangering U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria, and beyond," The Associated Press reports. "Over the last two decades Soleimani had assembled a network of powerful and heavily armed allies stretching all the way to southern Lebanon, on Israel's doorstep." The U.S. blames Soleimani for the death of hundreds of U.S. troops, AP notes, but "for Iran, the killing represents the loss of a cultural icon who represented national pride and resilience while facing U.S. sanctions." Watch Fareed Zakaria discuss Soleimani's heroic profile in Iran and what happens next on CNN. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Is Hollywood losing its luster?
Today's Big Question Television and film production is moving, leaving Hollywood to ponder its place in pop culture
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges