American Senator:

Killing Gen. Soleimani Equivalent to Iran Assassinating US Secretary of Defense

Sen. Chris Murphy said Washington's assassination of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani is similar to a situation where Iran hunts down the US Secretary of Defense.

News ID: 448364

Date: 05 January 2020 - 09:32

RNA - The top Iranian commander was martyred in a targeted assassination attack by the Unites States in Iraq early Friday morning. The air raid also martyred Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), or Hashad al-Shabi.

"The question moving forward is whether the administration has given any thought as to how to manage the fallout that comes from such a drastic action," Murphy said, adding that "this is the equivalent of the Iranians assassinating the US secretary of defense".

"It's not clear whether it was defensive in nature or a declaration of war," Murphy stated, according to The Washington Post.

"If a foreign country assassinated our secretary of defense, we would unquestionably consider that an act of war that demanded a disproportionate response," the senator noted.

Murphy also stressed that Soleimani could be more dangerous to the United States as a "martyr", according to Politico.

The Pentagon had announced that President Donald Trump authorized a US military strike near Baghdad's airport which resulted in the martyrdom of General Soleimani.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has stated those who assassinated the top commander must await a tough revenge.

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