BAGHDAD (AP) Iran vowed harsh retaliation for a U.S. airstrike near Baghdads airport that killed a top Iranian general who had been the architect of its interventions across the Middle East, as tensions soared in the wake of the targeted killing.
The killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Irans elite Quds Force, marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Iran, which has careened from one crisis to another since President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.
The United States urged American citizens to leave Iraq immediately following the Friday airstrike at Baghdads international airport that killed Soleimani and nine others, Irans state TV reported Friday. The State Department said the embassy in Baghdad, which was attacked by Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters earlier this week, is closed and all consular services have been suspended.
Around 5,200 American troops are based in Iraq, where they mainly train Iraqi forces and help to combat Islamic State militants.
Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that harsh retaliation is waiting for the U.S. after the airstrike, calling Soleimani the international face of resistance. Khamenei declared three days of public mourning and appointed Maj. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, Soleimanis deputy, to replace him as head of the Quds Force.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the killing a heinous crime and vowed his country would take revenge.
Thousands of worshippers in the Iranian capital Tehran took to streets after Friday Muslim prayers to condemn the killing, chanting Death to deceitful America.
The targeted strike, and any retaliation by Iran, could ignite a conflict that engulfs the whole region, endangering U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and beyond. Over the last two decades, Soleimani had assembled a network of heavily armed allies stretching all the way to southern Lebanon, on Israels doorstep.
However, the attack may act as a deterrent for Iran and its allies to delay or restrain any potential response. Oil prices surged on news of the airstrike and markets were mixed.
The killing promised to strain relations with Iraqs government, which is allied with both Washington and Tehran and has been deeply worried about becoming a battleground in their rivalry. Iraqi politicians close to Iran called for the country to order U.S. forces out of the country.
The Defense Department said it killed the 62-year-old Soleimani because he was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. It also accused Soleimani of approving the orchestrated violent protests at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
The strike, on an access road near Baghdads airport, was carried out Friday by a U.S. drone, according to a U.S. official.
Soleimani had just disembarked from a plane arriving from either Syria or Lebanon, a senior Iraqi security official said. The blast tore his body to pieces along with that of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. A senior politician said Soleimanis body was identified by the ring he wore. Irans state TV said Friday a total of 10 people were killed in the airstrike, including five Revolutionary Guard members and Soleimanis son-in-law, whom he did not identify.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
The attack comes at the start of a year in which Trump faces both a Senate trial following his impeachment by Congress and a re-election campaign. It marks a potential turning point in the Middle East and represents a drastic change for American policy toward Iran after months of tensions.
