The US killing of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, has caused sharp reactions from Iranian leaders and around the world.
Iran and it’s Hezbollah allies have promised revenge, and many others, including US politicians, are saying the act will cause a dangerous escalation in the Middle East, if not a direct war between the US and Iran.
The US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the killing of the Iranian general risks causing a “dangerous escalation,” as quoted by AFP.
US senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said in a tweet that “Trump’s dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars.”
He said that Trump promised to end endless wars, but this action puts us on the path to another one.
But Republican lawmakers were quick to back Trump’s attack.
“Wow - the price of killing and injuring Americans has just gone up drastically,” Senator Lindsey Graham, a close confidant of Trump, wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev called the US killing of Soleimani “the worst-case scenario,” and said he believed that Iranian retribution “will not take long.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi condemned the “assassination” of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, according to a report by Reuters.
The airstrike on Baghdad airport is “an act of aggression on Iraq and breach of its sovereignty that will lead to war in Iraq, the region, and the world,” he said in a statement.
According to APF, China has called for “calm and restraint” after the US attack killed the Iranian general.
Moreover, Iraqi anti-government protesters celebrated outside their protest tents in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square following news of the killing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s top commander.
Hours after the attack, the United States embassy in Baghdad urged all citizens to depart Iraq immediately.(tolonews)