US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has claimed that leaders in Iran are “not nearly as saddened” as they are letting the outside world believe over the death of top general Qasem Soleimani.
He also said that the influential military figure “should have been taken out many years ago”, and was responsible for the deaths of Americans.
Soleimani – who commanded the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force – was killed in the early hours today by a US airstrike in Baghdad.
The killing has provoked outrage in Iran, with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning of “severe revenge” for “the criminals who bloodied their foul hands with his blood”.
Russia, Syria and Iraq were among countries condemning the US’s actions while China appealed for both sides to “remain calm”. France’s Europe Minister Amelie de Montchalin said: “We have woken up to a more dangerous world.”
The US has so far defended calling the airstrike, with the Pentagon describing it as a “decisive defensive action”.
Tweeting this afternoon, Trump said that Soleimani was responsible for the death or wounding of “thousands of Americans”.
He said: “General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more…but got caught! He was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people, including the recent large number of PROTESTERS killed in Iran itself.
While Iran will never be able to properly admit it, Soleimani was both hated and feared within the country. They are not nearly as saddened as the leaders will let the outside world believe. He should have been taken out many years ago!
His only earlier comments on the dramatic news included a tweet featuring a picture of a US flag and another, cryptic tweet stating that “Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!”
Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meanwhile, said today that the US “remains committed to de-escalation” following the airstrike.
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