Alex Christoforou
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the United States’ shocking decision to kill Iran’s top general in a drone strike at Baghdad’s airport on Friday, triggering warnings of a “dangerous escalation” in the region.
The targeted assassination of Genral Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, is a sinister trap meant to push Iran into retaliation, that would then prompt Trump to escalate the situation into a far larger conflict between the United States and Iran.
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Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei, warned in a statement that the “criminals” responsible for the death of a top Iranian general will face “severe revenge”, and that his work fighting on behalf of the Iranian people “won’t be stopped by his martyrdom,” according to a statement published on Twitter.
The statement was issued in response to Friday morning’s “game changing” drone strike (the attack took place late Thursday evening in the US) that killed Iran’s most revered and respected military commander, General Qasem Suleimani, the leader of the IRGC’s Quds Force – a powerful regional player responsible for overseeing Iran’s proxy war in Yemen, as well as Iran-backed forces in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere.
The statement was published in English by an unverified but widely-cited Twitter account, and though Zero Hedge hasn’t personally verified whether the statement is genuine, it is being reported as legitimate by many media outlets around the world, including the Washington Post, which cited part of it.
The statement reads as follows:
Dear Iranian Nation!
Years of sincere, brave efforts fighting against the devils& villainous in the world & yrs of wishing for martyrdom on the path of God finally took the dear Commander of Islam, Soleimani, to this lofty status. His blood was shed by the most barbaric of men.
We congratulate Imam Mahdi (‘a.j.) & Soleimani’s pure soul& condole the Iranian nation on this great martyrdom. He was an eminent example of a person trained in Islam. He spent all his life in struggling for God. Martyrdom was the reward for his tireless efforts over the years.
His efforts & path won’t be stopped by his martyrdom, by God’s Power, rather a #SevereRevenge awaits the criminals who have stained their hands with his & the other martyrs’ blood last night. Martyr Soleimani is an Intl figure of Resistance & all such people will seek revenge.
All friends – & enemies – know that Jihad of Resistance will continue with more motivation & definite victory awaits the fighters on this blessed path. The loss of our dear General is bitter. The continuing fight & ultimate victory will be more bitter for the murderers & criminals.
The Iranian nation will honor the memory of the noble Major-General Soleimani & the martyrs with him – particularly the great Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis – & I declare 3 days of mourning across the nation. I condole & congratulate his family.
In a tweet published shortly after news of the deadly US attack first broke, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif warned that “the US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism”. He also denounced the strike as an “act of international terrorism” by the US, and added that the Quds force is “THE most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al”.
The US' act of international terrorism, targeting & assassinating General Soleimani—THE most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al—is extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation.
The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 3, 2020
Meanwhile, Iranian defense minister Amir Hatami said that the attack by the “arrogant U.S.” would be met with a “crushing” response, according to the Washington Post.
The US Embassy in Baghdad, which was recently the target of a Benghazi-style attack earlier this week that Trump cited as justification for Suleimani’s killing, warned any American citizens to leave Iraq immediately, and said it was suspending all public consular activities (or at least any that hadn’t already been suspended in the aftermath of this week’s attack), the Washington Post reports.
Though President Trump hasn’t released a statement beyond tweeting a picture of an American flag, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the Pentagon had taken “decisive defensive action” against Soleimani, whom Esper claimed was “actively” in the process of planning attacks on American diplomats.
“Gen. Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” Esper said. “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.”
During these tense times, we think it’s important to reflect on the fact that the US and Suleimani weren’t always enemies, as Barbara Slavin, the director of the Future of Iran Initiative, reminds us
In the aftermath of 9/11, the Quds force worked (indirectly) with US forces in Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban. But the relationship soured after the American invasion of Iraq. Suleimani has been in control of the Quds force since the late 1990s, according to media reports.
To be sure, the general’s killing wasn’t the first example of President Trump ordering a supposedly “game-changing” military strike that could instigate WWIII (remember, “experts” delivered a similar warning after Trump sent 50+ Tomahawk Missiles raining down on Syrian military fixtures back in 2017, and have repeated it several times since), but it was without a doubt the most aggressive provocation of the Trump era, and has destroyed what little hope remained of a diplomatic detente.
Though, for Qassem’s sake, at least he lived long enough to see the finale of Game of Thrones (since he was, apparently, a fan…)
Not anymore Qassem… pic.twitter.com/KoEyQSKlmi
— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) January 3, 2020
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Yes Alexander the US was involved, but not in the way you implied.
This article is a very elaborate way of saying: “Always do the opposite of what the jew says.”
Pride is before a crash .
This most terrorist nation of all nations, America understands nothing . They are corrupted in mind and deprived of truth.
Greedy for dominance and others treasure .Occupying and stealing at whim from other nations.
Killing and destroying lives and peace around the globe.
This pride and arrogance will be to their end very soon and maggots will be their only covering.
This is not wishful thinking -it’s a mathematical certainty.
The American condition is one of naive ignorance and a sheltered arrogance. As you have rightfully said their hautiness will be their undoing, but not until the reality of action bearing retaliation happens within it’s walls. As soon as conflict is sown on American soil and Americans kill Americans shall the wider world have an opening to demonstrate the poison America sows by bringing the US down from within.
“Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
“There god is their stomach and their destiny is destruction.”
If the State-Terrorist NeoCunts AmeriCunts + ZioNAZIs think they accomplish anything usefull, they are mistaken, the Iranians appointed already a successor…..but as usually, they miscalculating what will happen next, they tried so hard driving a wedge between Iraq + Iran with Terrorism + inciting violence…now Iran – Iraq – Syria, in collaboration with the Russians and maybe the Chinese as well, comming closer together against their common enemies ISIS/AQ and their US + Israeli Masters.
Insh’Allah, General Qassem Soleimani.
May your martyrdom be an inspiration to those you led with heroism and dedication to defeat the scourge of ISIS and Daesh.
A great leader and humble servent of his country and to Islam.
Rest in Peace at the right hand of Allah.
well said………
Thank you for this very enlightening discussion, Alex and Alexander. I listened and watched on youtube, as usual. Congratulations also to the 101.000 subscriptions. Next goal: 200.000!
press tv: Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) says a harsh vengeance “in due time and right place” awaits criminals behind the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in a US airstrike in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. “Iran’s Supreme National Security Council during its extraordinary session today examined various aspects of this incident and made appropriate decisions; and announces that the regime of the United States of America will be responsible for all the consequences of this criminal adventurism,” the SNSC said in a statement on Friday,… Read more »
“In due time and right place” – Iran will take revenge but the US will not know where, when and how … keep waiting, keep guessing!
Another good analysis from Duran. Many thanks for your good work. This may be nothing more than an elaborate ploy to distract from impeachment and lay the groundwork for the election. Nothing better than the drums of war to gather the unconscious mind controlled masses to the President.
Yes, the original attack is very suspicious. It might well have been by an ISIS group. It could even have been a carefully planned false flag attack negotiated between a US proxy and ISIS. And don’t forget that the US also killed a popular Iraqi high-ranking commander who was a war hero for defeating ISIS. Killing him was a war crime against Iraq. Probably Iran will put most of its effort into helping the Iraqis get rid of occupying US forces.
Another proxy war cometh. Here’s hoping the US get the hint and retreat.
predictably, US State Marketing will shape US atrocities in the form of actions by a righteous Marvel Superhero versus an evil threat. Of course, the Marketing need have no more logical consistency than that of a comic book, because to make an effective impression it’s all about drama, excitement. Not a place for logic.
Imagine if Russia had assassinated by drone attack outside Heathrow airport, a Ukrainian Volunteer Forces leader visiting Boris Johnson’s Government officials in London…….. Who would be seen as the terrorist? The target?
Thanks, Alex, for your sober, moral and elegant analysis.
As instructive as was Alexander’s dissection of the nonsense being peddled about Soleimani’s assassination, I think the main point for those of us who don’t take anything the American government says at face value, is not this but that he was blatantly killed on the territory of a country that the US is supposed to be supporting. It may well be that he had anticipated his own death, but no one could have predicted he would be killed so openly rather than in say a car bomb which could be blamed on anyone. (incidentally, one does not have to buy… Read more »
TASS: Moscow residents bring flowers to Iranian embassy in wake of Soleimani’s killing Many Iranian exchange students and representatives of the Iranian media have arrived at the scene, along with Russian nationals expressing solidarity with the Iranian people MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/. Iranian citizens residing in Moscow and Russian nationals are bringing flowers to the Iranian Embassy building in the Russian capital to honor the memory of Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in the strike by US forces near Baghdad on Friday. TASS reports that many Iranian exchange students and representatives of the Iranian… Read more »
As can be seen from Trump’s order to kill the Iranian general, the blood trail of US presidents has been very long since George Washington. The greed for domination of the world and the misconception of their own superiority determine the US regimes’ policies.
Democracy is ruled by the organized morality of society.
For in Empire USA, the educated upper-half of society always votes to enslave the lower-half of society as the 50% working poor.
Which causes the poor to refuse to vote. Which causes the 25% most wealthy to:
1. Be the voting majority.
2. Win all elections.
3. Hoard all the land and wealth belonging to the 50% working-poor.
4. Put war-hawk politicians into Congress and the White House.
Just because I was born with a conviction that I deserve less, while the vast majority feel that they deserve more, does that make me any better? Of course not, acts of nature being so. And just because the root cause for global warming is the vast majority feeling that they need to be all they can be and take all they can take, does my knowing this make me more intelligent than the majority? No, for wisdom, either you have it or you don’t. And so, the only purpose of earth, is it not to establish the difference between… Read more »
@ John Ellis, the root cause of global warming is the Sun. Man’s actions & CO2 have zero to negligible affect on warming or climate. CO2, Carbon Dioxide is plant food, & increases result in greater crops & greener forests. Climatologist Dr. Tim Ball has won 2 court cases against the fraudsters promoting the global con. One vs the inconsequential Canadian “green” politician Andrew Weaver. One vs the “Hockey Stick” fraud Mikey Mann, in August 2019. Mann had tried to wipe out 900 years of history to make the present mild warming look exceptional. This Stalinist action was applauded by… Read more »
TASS: Zarif criticizes Pompeo for saying Iraqis were celebrating Soleimani’s death Iranian Foreign Minister slammed US Secretary of State as “an arrogant clown masquerading as a diplomat” TASS, January 5. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif slammed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as “an arrogant clown masquerading as a diplomat” on Saturday in response to Pompeo’s statement that Iraqis were allegedly celebrating the death of Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani. Pompeo wrote on his Twitter account earlier that the Iraqis were “dancing in the street for freedom, thankful that General Soleimani is no more.” He also posted a video of people… Read more »
From what I have read, I think Soleimani was a lot more than just a PR product, or even a ‘capable’ commander and diplomat.