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- Iran called for former President Donald Trump to be put on trial for Qassem Soleimani’s death.
- If not, the country would take revenge “without a doubt,” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said.
- Thousands gathered to honor the top general on Monday — the second anniversary of his slaying.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi declared on Monday that his country would take revenge for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani if former President Donald Trump isn’t put on Islamic trial for the killing.
Soleimani, the top commander of the Quds Force, the overseas faction of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, was killed in a drone strike launched by the US under Trump’s order on January 3, 2020, in Baghdad. The military figure steered much of Iran’s foreign policy in the Middle East for more than two decades.
In his Monday speech, Raisi also called for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to be brought to trial in an Islamic court. “If Trump and Pompeo are not tried in a fair court for the criminal act of assassinating General Soleimani, Muslims will take our martyr’s revenge,” Raisi said, Reuters reported.
“The aggressor, murderer, and main culprit — the then-president of the United States — must be tried and judged under the law of retribution, and God’s ruling must be carried out against him,” Raisi said in a speech on Monday.
“Otherwise, I will tell all US leaders that without a doubt the hand of revenge will emerge from the sleeve of the Muslim nation,” he added, according to The Times of Israel.
His comments come a day after Iran submitted a letter to the United Nations Security Council calling for the US and Israel, which it also accused of being involved in the attack, to be held accountable for Soleimani’s death. The Trump administration said the strike was carried out in self-defense.
Iran has formed a list of 127 suspects in the assassination, including 74 American citizens, and Trump is at the top, Prosecutor-General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri told Reuters.
A murder conviction is punishable by execution under Iran’s Islamic laws, though the deceased’s family may instead choose to forgive the perpetrator and accept financial compensation.
Soleimani is idolized by many Iranians, who held events on Monday to commemorate the second anniversary of his death. Thousands gathered in Tehran’s largest prayer hall to honor Soleimani, holding national flags and portraits of the slain general, Agence France-Presse reported. In Iraq, crowds gathered to chant “Death to America.”
The same day, US-led coalition forces in Iraq shot down two suicide drones above Baghdad airport. One of the drones had “Soleimani’s revenge” written on its wing, Insider’s Ryan Pickrell reported.
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