Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has said former United States President Donald Trump must face justice for his role in the assassination of top general Qassem Soleimani two years ago, or else Iran will have revenge,
Al Jazeera reports.
In a televised speech on Monday, the Iranian president said as the “main criminal and killer” who ordered the deadly drone attack on Soleimani’s convoy in Iraq, Trump must face “God’s ruling” and suffer “qisas”, which is the Islamic term for retaliation in kind.
Raisi called for the formation of a “fair court” in which Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other American officials are sentenced and punished.
If not, he said, “don’t doubt, and I tell this to all American statesmen, that the hand of revenge will come out of the ummah’s [nation’s] sleeve”.
Iran has said Soleimani, one of the most powerful figures in the country at the time, was on a diplomatic mission in Baghdad by invitation of the Iraqi government when the US targeted him near the city’s airport.
At the time, Iran promised “harsh revenge” and days later fired more than a dozen missiles at two US bases in Iraq that caused no casualties. The country later set the complete withdrawal of American military forces from the region as its ultimate goal as it pledged revenge for the killing.
Meanwhile, judiciary officials have promised to continue following up on the assassination in local and international venues. The country had previously requested Interpol “red notices” for the arrest of Trump and dozens of other US officials.
A local court was set up on Monday, and officials have invited the Iranian public to formally register any grievances they may have with foreign powers for assassinating the general.
Iran has also called on the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council to issue resolutions against the US and Israel – which Iranian officials have accused of providing assistance for the drone attack – to condemn them and discourage similar attacks in the future.