Iran vows to revenge US killing of Iranian commander

Supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to mete out “harsh revenge” against the United States for the killing of Qasem Soleimani.

Soleimani, a top military commander in Iran, was killed in an airstrike at the Baghdad International Airport on Friday.

The Pentagon said the attack was carried out on the order of President Donald Trump to deter “future Iranian attack plans”.

But reacting, Khamenei said the US would pay for their action.

“His pure blood was shed in the hands of the most depraved of human beings,” Khamenei said in a statement.

“His departure to God does not end his path or his mission, but a forceful revenge awaits the criminals who have his blood and the blood of the other martyrs last night on their hands.”

Khamenei said the fight would continue, and that it had been Soleimani’s wish for years to become a martyr.

He declared three days of mourning for the deceased.

Khamenei also appointed Ismail Qaani, a major general, as Soleimani’s replacement.

Qaani, who had served for years alongside Soleimani, was promoted from deputy commander of the Quds Force.

The supreme leader added that the Quds Force’s agenda would remain “unchanged from the time of his predecessor”.

In a statement, Muqtada al-Sadr, who leads the largest political bloc in Iraq’s parliament, asked for the revival of the “Mahdi Army,” which fought US troops during the 2003 invasion.

He, however, called on Iraqis to exercise “wisdom and shrewdness”.