The President of Iran has vowed there will be revenge if former U.S. President Donald Trump is not put on trial for the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for both Trump and his then-Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to face trial over a drone strike conducted in January 2020 that was ordered by Trump.
In a speech on Monday, Raisi said that Trump and Pompeo need to be tried in “a fair court” for the assassination of Soleimani. He said that Trump was the “main culprit,” and called him an “aggressor” and a “murderer.” He said Trump needs to be tried and judged under Islamic law of retribution.
Raisi furthered that if the two were not tried in court for the assassination, that Muslims would take their “martyr’s revenge.”
On Jan. 3, 2020, Trump ordered a drone strike in Iraq near Baghdad’s airport, which killed Soleimani. In a statement released the following day, Trump said that the action taken was to stop a war, not start a war.
The Pentagon said that the mission was conducted because Soleimani was developing plans to attack U.S. diplomats, as well as military service members in Iraq and elsewhere throughout the Middle East region. The Pentagon also said that Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American service members, as well as other coalition service members, and responsible for wounding thousands more.
Iran is now seeking retribution for the drone strike and Soleimani’s death. To seek it under Islamic law in Iran would mean that convicted murderers can be executed by the state, unless the victim’s family opts to take “blood money” as settlement instead.
In Iran, judicial officials have determined that 127 suspects are connected to the assassination case. It includes 74 Americans, and at the top of that list, is Trump.
On Sunday, Iran penned a letter to the United Nations Security Council, requesting that the group holds both the U.S. and Israel accountable for Soleimani’s assassination.
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