[ad_1]
TEHRAN – Iran’s chief judiciary warned on Friday that Qasem Soleimani’s killers “will not be safe on Earth” as the Islamic republic began to mark the first anniversary of the assassination of the top general in a US attack.
Ebrahim Raisi, speaking at an event in Tehran to pay tribute to Soleimani, said that even US President Donald Trump, who ordered the attack, was not “immune from justice.”
Soleimani was killed in a US drone attack at the Baghdad airport on January 3, raising tensions between arch-enemies the United States and Iran.
READ: SA says no evidence of Iranian plot to kill US envoy
“They will witness severe revenge. What has happened so far has only been glimpses,” Raisi told the Tehran University meeting.
“Do not presume that someone, like the president of the United States, who appeared as a murderer or ordered an assassination, can be immune from justice. Never,” he said.
“Those who played a role in this murder and crime will not be safe on Earth.”
The event was attended by Iranian officials, and speakers included representatives of allied countries and regional forces, namely Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.
READ: Embassy mother on assassination allegations as Iran warns US about Trump threat
A separate event is expected to take place in the coming days in Kerman, Soleimani’s hometown where he is buried.
Soleimani headed the Quds force, the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Top Iranian authorities, including the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had previously said that everyone involved in his assassination would face retaliation.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have skyrocketed since 2018, when Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed crippling sanctions.
The two sides have been on the brink of war twice since June 2019, especially after Soleimani’s assassination.
