US warns slain Iran general’s successor Esmail Ghaani

The US pointmam for Iran warns the successor to Qassem Soleimani would end up dead too if he followed his path.

Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike. Picture: AP

The US special representative for Iran says the successor to Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike, would suffer the same fate if he followed a similar path of killing Americans.

Washington blamed Soleimani for masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias against US forces in the region. US President Donald Trump ordered the January 3 drone strike in Iraq after a build-up of tension over Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran responded to the killing of Soleimani, who was charged with expanding Tehran’s influence across the Middle East, by launching missile strikes on US targets in Iraq, although no US soldiers were killed.

After Soleimani’s death, Tehran swiftly appointed Esmail Ghaani as the new head of the Quds Force, an elite unit in the Revolutionary Guard that handles actions abroad. The new commander pledged to pursue Soleimani’s course.

“If Ghaani follows the same path of killing Americans then he will meet the same fate,” Brian Hook told the Arabic-language daily Asharq al-Awsat.

Mr Hook said that Mr Trump had long made it clear “that any attack on Americans or American interests would be met with a decisive response”.

“This isn’t a new threat. The President has always said that he will always respond decisively to protect American interests,” he said. “I think the Iranian regime understands now that they cannot attack America and get away with it.”

After his appointment, Major General Ghaani promised to “continue in this luminous path” taken by Soleimani and said the goal was to drive US forces out of the region, which has long been Iran’s stated policy.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have steadily ­increased since Mr Trump withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 and imposed tough news sanctions that have hammered the Iranian economy. The latest flare-up began in December when rockets fired at US bases in Iraq killed a US contractor. Washington blamed pro-Iran militia and launched airstrikes that killed at least 25 fighters.

Reuters