Trump says 'Soleimani made death of innocent people his sick passion'

The President of United States Donald Trump said on January 4 that Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani made the death of innocent people his 'sick passion' after an airstrike by Washington killed him. Causing a dramatic escalation amid already tensed relations between US and Iran, White House and the Pentagon confirmed that the head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed by US air raid at Baghdad's international airport on January 3, along with six others. 

Trump said, “Soleimani made the death of innocent people his sick passion, contributing to terrorist plots as far away as New Delhi and London. Today we remember and honor the victims of Soleimani’s many atrocities, and we take comfort in knowing that his reign of terror is over.”

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The first official statement by Trump after initial substantial comments saying 'Iran never won a war' was made on January 4. The US President also said that 'Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him'. 

Iran calls it 'stupid'

However, Iran called it “malice and stupidity of American terrorist forces”. After posting America's flag on his Twitter account, the recent statement by Trump is also the first one since the airstrike. The recent killings have reportedly sent shock waves through the Middle East region and have resulted in intensified tensions between the US and Iran. Soleimani led a special forces unit of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and has also been blamed for hundreds of Americans and several others across the region. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in a tweet said that 'Iran will take revenge for this heinous crime'.

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In another statement, Rouhani also said that “there is no doubt that the great nation of Iran and the other free nations of the region will take revenge for this gruesome crime from criminal America”. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also reportedly warned of 'severe revenge for the criminals who bloodied their foul hands with his blood'. Khamenei further also said that Soleimani's work and his path will not be stopped. 

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