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After Suleimani, Iran will hit back hard – possibly on multiple fronts Iran has military, covert and diplomatic options. And this new phase of the confrontation could quickly get out of handOn the outskirts of Tehran, vast cemeteries serve as a grim reminder of the high price Iran paid during its 1980-88 war with Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of young Iranians fought and died in a horrific struggle against Saddam Hussein’s invasion forces, which were armed by the US. Among those Iranian soldiers who survived was Qassem Suleimani.The war, by all accounts, was a formative experience for the man who would later rise to a dominant position in Iran’s military, security and intelligence establishment. Suleimani’s loyalty to Iran’s revolutionary regime, which seized pow...

Qassem Suleimani: chants of 'death to America' at Baghdad funeral Thousands of mourners attend funeral procession for Iranian general killed in US airstrikeA defining moment in the Middle EastThousands of mourners have marched in a funeral procession through Baghdad for Iran’s top general and Iraqi militant leaders who were killed in a US airstrike.The bodies of Qassem Suleimani and others killed in the drone strike were taken on a funeral procession starting in Baghdad to chants of “death the America” on Saturday. Iranian officials said a public farewell was planned in Tehran on Sunday. Continue reading... Go to Source

Iran vows revenge for US killing of top general Qassem Suleimani Fears of conflict spread as Trump appears to taunt Iran, saying it has never won a warThe Iran crisis – live updatesIran has vowed to take revenge for a US drone strike that killed its most powerful general, as the US secretary of state attempted to minimise the fallout from the dramatic attack by stating Washington was “committed to de-escalation”.The Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, ordered three days of mourning and declared that the US would face “severe revenge” for the killing of Qassem Suleimani, who ran Tehran’s military operations in Iraq and Syria. Continue reading... Go to Source

A visual guide to the US airstrike that killed Qassem Suleimani US-Iran tensions have escalated in the Middle East following the death of a powerful Iranian generala US airstrike killed the powerful Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in the early hours of Friday as he was being driven away from Baghdad international airport. Continue reading... Go to Source

Reprisals against US to come at time and place of Iran's choosing The threat to America and its allies is greatest in the Middle East, but Tehran has ample options when it comes to taking revengeIran has spent decades preparing for a moment like this, developing methods and networks around the world that give Tehran the widest possible choice when it comes to taking revenge. Related: Iran crisis: Trump says Suleimani 'should have been taken out years ago' – live updates Continue reading... Go to Source

US failing to give UK warning of military strikes, says senior MP Dominic Raab calls for calm as Tom Tugendhat says allies should not surprise each otherThe UK was not informed in advance of the US airstrike that killed Iran’s top general, it has been claimed, as the British government scrambled to protect its interests in the Middle East in the wake of the attack.The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said the government had “always recognised the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force”, whose leader Qassem Suleimani was killed in the strike. Continue reading... Go to Source

The Suleimani assassination goes against Trump’s policy – but not his character | Jonathan Freedland Although the US president says he wants to avoid military entanglements, he can’t resist the macho appeal of actionIs there any point looking for logic or consistency in the words and deeds of Donald Trump? It can seem a futile task. And yet for at least another year – and perhaps five more – he wields the power of life and death, able on a whim to plunge the world into war. Which means we are obliged at least to try to divine some thread of reason in his actions and statements, if only to prepare ourselves for what could be their lethal consequences. Related: US kills Iran general Qassem Suleimani in strike ordered by Trump Continue reading... Go to Source

Iran crisis: US embassy tells its citizens to leave Iraq immediately – live updates World reacts to news of US drone strike ordered by Donald Trump on Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in BaghdadFull report: Qassem Suleimani killed in drone strike ordered by TrumpAnalysis: death threatens to open grisly new chapter in Middle EastProfile: who is Qassem Suleimani? 11.42am GMTExperts have warned that the strike on Iran’s top general puts the US and allies, including the UK, at risk. Ian Bond, foreign policy director at the Centre for European Reform, tweeted that the airstrike was a “big escalation” by Trump.No doubt #Soleimani was v bad actor, w much blood on his hands. But killing non-state terrorists eg bin Laden or Baghdadi v different from killing senior official o...

Qassem Suleimani's death threatens to open grisly new chapter in Middle East Killing of powerful Iranian general will have far-reaching consequences for TrumpUS kills Iranian general in Baghdad drone strike – live updatesIn his long military career, Qassem Suleimani left the Middle East littered with corpses. Now he has finally joined them. His death has closed one gruesome chapter in the region’s endless conflicts, only to open another, which could well prove even worse.No one can predict how this will turn out, perhaps least of all the two leading protagonists. Nothing about Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East until now suggests that Suleimani’s assassination by drone outside Baghdad airport was part of a considered plan. Continue reading... Go to Sour...

Iran general Qassem Suleimani killed in Baghdad drone strike ordered by Trump Supreme leader vows ‘severe revenge’ after US president orders Baghdad airport strike as part of ‘decisive defensive action’ The White House said Donald Trump ordered an air strike that killed powerful Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad in the early hours of Friday, in a dramatic escalation of an already bloody struggle between Washington and Tehran for influence across the region.Suleimani, who ran Iranian military operations in Iraq and Syria, was targeted while being driven from Baghdad airport by local allies from the Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU). The deputy head of the PMU, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes, a close Suleimani associate, was also killed in the attack. Continue re...

Who is Qassem Suleimani? Iran farm boy who became more powerful than a president Quds leader was extraordinarily successful in reshaping the region in wake of Iraq war and Syrian revolutionUS drone strikes in Baghdad on Friday morning have killed not just one of the most influential men in Iran but also in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, too.Qassem Suleimani had become well known among Iranians in past years and was sometimes discussed as a future president. Yet the leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force was still a relatively obscure figure outside a region that he may have done more than anyone to reshape. Continue reading... Go to Source