Head of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mojtaba Zonnouri underlined that the US bases and forces in the region will no more be safe after Washington's assassination of IRGC Qods Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani. RNA - "The Americans violated Iraq's sovereignty and international laws by targeting the car carrying Lieutenant General Soleimani and it was a completely terrorist action in violation of all international laws," Zonnouri told Fars News on Saturday.
"Now that the Americans embark on terrorist acts against our commander and military force, reciprocation is our right," he added.
"The Americans should know that their military bases are within the range of the Islamic Republic's military power and they should wait for our measures from now on," Zonnouri said.
Lieutenant General Soleimani was martyred in a targeted assassination attack by the US drones at Baghdad International Airport early on Friday morning.
General Qassem Soleimani has been martyred by the US aircraft after lifetime efforts, the IRGC said in a statement early Friday morning.
The airstrike also martyred Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), or Hashad al-Shaabi. The PMF media arm said the two were martyred in an American airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport.
Five Iranian and five Iraqi militaries were martyred by missiles fired by the US drone at Baghdad International Airport.
The Pentagon confirmed the attack in a statement.
The attack came amid tensions that started by the US attack on PMF units that killed 28 Iraqi popular forces. A day later, Iraqi people attacked the US embassy in Baghdad. On Wednesday President Donald Trump ordered about 750 US soldiers deployed to the Middle East.
US officials earlier suggested they were to engage in further retaliatory attacks in Iraq.
The developments also represent a major downturn in Iraq-US relations that could further undermine US influence in the region and American troops in Iraq and weaken Washington’s hand in its pressure campaign against Iran.
US President Donald Trump was vacationing on his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, but sent out a tweet of an American flag.
The attack represents a dramatic escalation by the US toward Iran after months of tensions. The tensions take root in Trump’s decision in May 2018 to withdraw the US from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, struck under his predecessor.
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