President Trump’s former hawkish national security adviser John Bolton on Friday cheered the US airstrike that killed the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
“Congratulations to all involved in eliminating Qassem Soleimani. Long in the making, this was a decisive blow against Iran’s malign Quds Force activities worldwide,” Bolton said in a tweet.
“Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran,” he added.
Iran’s supreme leader vowed “harsh retaliation” for the airstrike near Baghdad’s airport that killed Soleimani, the architect of Iran’s interventions across the Middle East.
The attack, which was approved by President Trump, killed a total of seven people, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq.
A handout photo made available by Iraq’s military-run Security Media Cell via facebook shows a burning vehicle near Baghdad International AirportEPA