Iran’s top security body vowed to retaliate in the “right place and time” after the United States killed Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday.
“America should know that its criminal attack on General Soleimani has been the country’s biggest mistake in west Asia, and America will not avoid the consequences of this wrong calculation easily,” the Supreme National Security Council said in a statement.
“These criminals will face severe vengeance... in the right place and time,” it added.
The chariman of Britain’s foreign affairs committee in the previous parliament has issued a statement which suggests that the UK government was unaware of the strike prior to the event itself. MP Tom Tugendhat said that “the purpose of having allies is that we can surprise our enemies and not each others,” and urged “the US administration to share much more closely with allies, particularly those who are fighting alongside in the region, including [the UK].”
The US Embassy in Baghdad has urged American citizens to leave Iraq as soon as possible.
Iraqi President Barham Saleh has called for restraint, saying “we call on everyone to restrain themselves” and that Iraq would be destabilised if “voices of reasons” do not prevail.
2020 candidate for President of the United States Joe Biden released a statement on Twitter, condemning the administration’s actions. According to press reports Congress was not informed nor had it approved the air strike.
Labour MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Brexit Keir Starmer called the attack an “extremely serious situation”, calling for quick deescalation from both sides.
Meanwhile, the oil price soared by a near $3 per barrel, as the air strike ignited fears of military escalation in the region.
Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders tweeted this morning:
In Germany, Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said “we are at a dangerous point of escalation. It is now important through prudence and restraint to contribute to de-escalation.”
Back in the US, and former national security adviser John Bolton has applauded the attack:
In Moscow, Russian news agency TASS quotes ‘a Russian Foreign Ministry source’ as saying “we consider Soleimani’s murder in a US missile strike at the suburbs of Baghdad an adventurous step that will lead to growing tensions throughout the region. Soleimani devotedly served the cause of protecting Iran’s national interest. We are offering our sincere condolences to the Iranian people.”
EU Council President Charles Michel has warned against further escalation, saying “The cycle of violence, provocations and retaliations which we have witnessed in Iraq over the past few weeks has to stop,” continuing, “further escalation must be avoided at all cost.” In a final word of warning, Michel noted “the risk is a generalised flare up of violence in the whole region and the rise of obscure forces of terrorism that thrive at times of religious and nationalist tensions.”
Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, has issued a 4-tweet response stating that the killing may well be unlawful.
Meanwhile, some users have taken to posting a video from 2011 in which Donald Trump speculates that President Obama “will start a war with Iran, because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He’s weak and he’s ineffective.”
Back to today, and Trump has responded to the various reactions on social media and from other state leaders with a rather patriotic tweet, currently pinned to his twitter page.
Following this, Trump has tweeted:
Iran vows revenge after US kills top general in Baghdad strike
