The daughter of slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani warned the families of U.S. soldiers to expect the imminent “death of their children” at her father’s funeral on Monday.
“Families of the American soldiers in western Asia have witnessed America’s humiliation in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Yemen, and [the] Palestine wars,” Zeinab Soleimani said in a speech to mourners. She said the families “will spend their days waiting for the death of their children.”
President Trump ordered the killing of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, on Thursday in a precision drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. American officials said Soleimani was planning an “imminent attack” on U.S. forces and facilities in the region.
Soleimani was at the head of Iranian war efforts in Syria, and according to the U.S. is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians turned out for the general’s funeral. Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led prayers at the funeral, openly wept over Soleimani’s casket.
The general’s successor as head of the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, told state television that “the minimum retribution for us is to remove America from the region.” President Trump told reporters on Friday that Soleimani’s killing was not intended as a prelude to regime change.
“We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war,” Trump said. Following threats of revenge by Iranian officials, Trump warned over the weekend that the U.S. would strike dozens of targets in Iran, including “cultural sites,” in response to any escalation.
“Iran has been nothing but problems for many years,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites…some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.”