Iran Quds Force commander vows Soleimani response

The newly appointed commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Monday said that his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, was killed by the US "in a cowardly way", adding that "we will hit his enemy in a manly fashion."

Esmail Ghaani made the remarks at an introduction ceremony held for him by top commanders of the Guard to mark the formal beginning of his duty.

Soleimani and a number of his comrades were killed in an American drone strike near Baghdad airport on January 3.

The Quds Force is part of the 125,000-strong Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary organization that answers only to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Guard oversees Iran's ballistic missile program, has its naval forces shadow the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf and includes an all-volunteer Basij force.

Like his predecessor, a young Esmail Ghaani faced the carnage of Iran's eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s and later joined the newly founded Quds, or Jerusalem, Force.

While much still remains unknown about Ghaani, 62, Western sanctions suggest he's long been in a position of power in the organization.