Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi vows revenge for the assassination of Qassem Suleimani in 2020, unless former US President Donald Trump is put on trial
“If Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are not tried in a fair court for the criminal act of assassinating General Suleimani, Muslims will take revenge on our martyrs,” Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said in a speech to the nation.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also vowed to retaliate in a January 1 speech, saying: “Trump and others like him will be forgotten and lost in the dustbin of history, of course after paying for their crimes in the world.”
Iran is in indirect talks with the United States over the return of the 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by former President Trump in 2018. Critics argue that restoring restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program is insufficient and sanctions should continue until it is ready to limit its ballistic missile program and change its regional policy. Qassem Suleimani, Iran’s senior military and intelligence operative outside its borders, was responsible for supporting and organizing forces that included Hezbollah from Lebanon, and Shiite militia groups in Iraq that repeatedly attacked US forces. He was killed by a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad airport in January 2020 by the United States.