The editor of a state-run Iranian newspaper reportedly declared this weekend that the regime would target President Donald Trump for execution for life following the decision to conduct an airstrike removing terrorist leader Qasem Soleimani from the battlefield.
Soleimani, a major general in the Iranian military, was the head of the Quds Force, the external terrorism arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Trump ordered an airstrike against Soleimani and the head of the terrorist Hezbollah Brigades, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in Baghdad, Iraq, in January.
In the Sunday edition of the state-run Kayhan, an article contained the threat via the paper’s editor-in-chief, Hossein Shariatmadari. According to the Saudi al-Arabiya news network, Shariatmadari wrote that, “as ‘the killer of Soleimani,’ Trump will for the rest of his ‘dirty and disgraceful’ life be a target of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”
Al-Arabiya identified Shariatmadari as “a close associate of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his representative in Kayhan.”
Kayhan publishes an English-language edition, which at press time has not published an analogous death threat to Trump. Instead, an article in Saturday’s edition called Trump “Donald the Dotard” and condemned him for revealing that he had considered an attack on Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
“The other day Donald Trump, the assassin of Iran’s iconic anti-terrorist general, Qassem Soleimani, bared his ugly undiplomatic face to the whole world by admitting that in late 2017 he had given instructions for the assassination of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, but his then Defense Secretary refused to endorse his murderous plan,” Kayhan asserted in an article attributed only to its international bureau staff.
The article applauded Assad, accused of perpetrating multiple chemical weapons attacks against civilians, for, “in contrast to the savagery of the uncouth Trump, [having] the civility to refrain from issuing any threats against his worthless life.”
Shariatmadari’s remarks regarding the IRGC targeting Trump echoed statements from the head of the IRGC, Major General Hossein Salami.
“Our promise to take revenge for the martyrdom of General Soleimani is decisive, serious and completely genuine,” Salami said on Saturday the state-run Tehran Times reported.
“Mr. Trump, do not doubt our revenge because it is completely decisive and serious,” he added.
Days after the drone strike in January, an Iranian lawmaker offered a $3 million reward to “whoever kills Trump.”
“You’ll taste this reality that Martyr Qasem Soleimani is more dangerous than Haj Qasem Soleimani,” Ahmad Hamzeh vowed.
“Will your embassies in the region be safe? If your embassies are plotting to kill our innocent people, are we allowed to destroy them?” he said. “Are your military bases and centers in the region for benevolence or to harm nations? Are we allowed to destroy all your bases in a preventive attack?”
In June, Iran sentenced to death Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, a man the regime described as “one of the spies for the CIA and Mossad” behind the killing.
The Iranian judiciary said Mousavi-Majd’s death would be carried out “soon” and that he would “face the consequences of his actions and his masters will also witness the determination, might and intelligence reach of the Islamic Republic.”
Later that month, Tehran Prosecutor General Ali Alqasi-Mehr claimed he identified 36 individuals he said “contributed to the death of Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani” and demanded Interpol arrest Trump.
“Thirty-six individuals who cooperated, collaborated, and participated in the assassination of Hajj Qassem, including political and military authorities of the U.S. and other countries, have been identified,” he said.
Alqasi-Mehr demanded Interpol issue a “red notice” – the highest-level possible – and predicted Trump would face prosecution “even after his term as president is over.”
“We are people of honor and gallantry and we will take a fair revenge,” Salami threatened on Sunday. “That’s why we did not target your troops in Ain al-Assad,” referring to the initial response by Iran which saw the regime lob several missiles at the Iraqi base.
France24 reported U.S. forces had ample warning an attack was being launched and were able to minimize damage that resulted in no causalities.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays. Listen to segments on YouTube or download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, and follow him on Parler.
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