
Iranians woke up Friday morning to the shocking news of the targeted killing of major general Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds force, by the United States in Iraq.
The killing of one of Iran’s most powerful and feared men, who was the mastermind of Iran’s military presence and proxy wars across the Middle East, drew backlash from different political factions inside Iran and became a rallying cry against the United States.
Even reformists and moderates, who have been critical of the Revolutionary Guards’ hard-line domestic and foreign policies, condemned the killing and sent out condolences for a commander who has been praised for fighting and defeating the Islamic State.
Former reformist President Mohammad Khatami, who has been banned from state media for his criticism of hard-line policies, published a message on social media calling Soleimani a “martyr” killed by “occupying criminals”. Two prominent Grand Ayatollahs, Yousef Saanei and Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani, who have been vocal critics of the regime, also issued statements praising Soleimani’s fight against “religious fundamentalism” perpetrated by Isis.
Other prominent opposition figures including Ardeshir Amir Arjomand, a close advisor to Mir Hossein Mousavi who has been critical of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, published a statement praising Soleimani for defeating Isis, calling the killing an act of “terrorism” and in violation of international law and against peace and security in the region.
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This photo released by the Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office shows a burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, early Friday, Jan. 3, 2020
AP
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A burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike. The Pentagon said Thursday that the U.S. military has killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Donald Trump
AP
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A handout picture provided by the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him visiting the family of Soleiman
KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images
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Thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of Soleimani during an anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran
EPA
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Demonstrators burn the U.S. and British flags during a protest in Tehran
VIA REUTERS
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Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Jalal Feiruznia, looks to a portrait of Soleimani, as he receives condolences at the Iranian embassy, in Beirut, Lebanon
AP
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People make their way on the street while a screen on the wall of a cinema shows a portrait Soleimani in Tehran
AP
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Iraqis perform a mourning prayer for slain Iranian Revolutionary Guards Major General Qasem Soleimani at the Great Mosque of Kufa
AFP via Getty Images
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Aziz Asmar, one of two Syrian painters who completed a mural following the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani poses next to his creation in the rebel-held Syrian town of Dana in the northwestern province of Idlib
AFP via Getty Images
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Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US flag as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan
EPA
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An anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran
EPA
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Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London
PA
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Mujtaba al-Husseini, the representative of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivers a speech in the holy shrine city of Najaf
AFP via Getty Images
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A Syrian man offers sweets to children to mark the killing
AFP via Getty Images
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Iranian worshippers attend a mourning prayer for Soleimani in Iran’s capital Tehran
AFP via Getty Images
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A billboard reading ‘Death to America and Israel’, installed by Iran-backed shiite armed groups at a street in Jadriyah district in Baghdad, Iraq
EPA
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Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US and Israeli flags as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan
EPA
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Kashmiri Shiite Muslims shout anti American and anti Israel slogans during a protest
AP
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Pakistani Shi’ite Muslims hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, in Peshawar, Pakistan
EPA
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Iranian worshipers chant slogans during Friday prayers
VIA REUTERS
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A protest against the USA, in Islamabad, Pakistan
EPA
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Iranians burn a US flag in Tehran
EPA
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Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran’s embassy in Berlin, Germany
REUTERS
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An Iranian, wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Soleimani, takes part in a demonstration in the capital Tehran
AFP via Getty Images
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Pakistani Shiite Muslims demonstrate near the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan
AP
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Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran’s embassy in Berlin
REUTERS
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Protesters demonstrate in Tehran
AP
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Iranian worshippers in Tehran
AFP via Getty Images
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Protesters carry posters in Islamabad
AFP via Getty Images
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A demonstration in Tehran
AFP via Getty Images
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Protesters burn representations of Israeli flag in Tehran
AP
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Vehicles of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol a road in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila near the border with Israel. Following morning’s killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani, Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called for the missile strike by Israel’s closest ally, to be avenged
AFP via Getty Images
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Iranian women take to the streets in Tehran
EPA
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A demonstration in Tehran
AFP via Getty Images
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Thousands of Iranians take to the streets in Tehran
EPA
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Iranians mourn during a demonstration
AFP via Getty Images
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Kashmiri Shiite Muslims shout anti American and anti Israel slogans during a protest in Indian controlled Kashmir
AP
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Iranians burn a US flag
EPA
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A protester holds a poster with an image of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a demonstration in the Kashmiri town of Magam
AFP via Getty Images
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A screen displays a chart with the evolution of the Spanish index IBEX 35 at the stock market in Madrid, Spain. The IBEX 35 dropped by 0.53 percent to reach 9,640.60 units at the opening of the trading session, affected by tensions in Middle East after US selective attack against Soleimani
EPA
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Protesters burn a US flag in Tehran
AP
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A woman walks past an anti-US mural on the former US embassy’s wall in Tehran
VIA REUTERS
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This photo released by the Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office shows a burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, early Friday, Jan. 3, 2020
AP
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A burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike. The Pentagon said Thursday that the U.S. military has killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Donald Trump
AP
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A handout picture provided by the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him visiting the family of Soleiman
KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images
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Thousands of Iranians take to the streets to mourn the death of Soleimani during an anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran
EPA
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Demonstrators burn the U.S. and British flags during a protest in Tehran
VIA REUTERS
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Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Jalal Feiruznia, looks to a portrait of Soleimani, as he receives condolences at the Iranian embassy, in Beirut, Lebanon
AP
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People make their way on the street while a screen on the wall of a cinema shows a portrait Soleimani in Tehran
AP
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Iraqis perform a mourning prayer for slain Iranian Revolutionary Guards Major General Qasem Soleimani at the Great Mosque of Kufa
AFP via Getty Images
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Aziz Asmar, one of two Syrian painters who completed a mural following the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani poses next to his creation in the rebel-held Syrian town of Dana in the northwestern province of Idlib
AFP via Getty Images
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Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US flag as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan
EPA
11/42
An anti-US demonstration to condemn the killing of Soleimani, after Friday prayers in Tehran
EPA
12/42
Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London
PA
13/42
Mujtaba al-Husseini, the representative of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivers a speech in the holy shrine city of Najaf
AFP via Getty Images
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A Syrian man offers sweets to children to mark the killing
AFP via Getty Images
15/42
Iranian worshippers attend a mourning prayer for Soleimani in Iran’s capital Tehran
AFP via Getty Images
16/42
A billboard reading ‘Death to America and Israel’, installed by Iran-backed shiite armed groups at a street in Jadriyah district in Baghdad, Iraq
EPA
17/42
Pakistani Shiite Muslims burn a mock of a US and Israeli flags as they hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, outside the US Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan
EPA
18/42
Kashmiri Shiite Muslims shout anti American and anti Israel slogans during a protest
AP
19/42
Pakistani Shi’ite Muslims hold pictures of General Qasem Soleimani during a protest against the USA, in Peshawar, Pakistan
EPA
20/42
Iranian worshipers chant slogans during Friday prayers
VIA REUTERS
21/42
A protest against the USA, in Islamabad, Pakistan
EPA
22/42
Iranians burn a US flag in Tehran
EPA
23/42
Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran’s embassy in Berlin, Germany
REUTERS
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An Iranian, wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Soleimani, takes part in a demonstration in the capital Tehran
AFP via Getty Images
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Pakistani Shiite Muslims demonstrate near the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan
AP
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Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Germany (NWRI) protest outside Iran’s embassy in Berlin
REUTERS
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Protesters demonstrate in Tehran
AP
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Iranian worshippers in Tehran
AFP via Getty Images
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Protesters carry posters in Islamabad
AFP via Getty Images
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A demonstration in Tehran
AFP via Getty Images
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Protesters burn representations of Israeli flag in Tehran
AP
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Vehicles of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol a road in the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Kila near the border with Israel. Following morning’s killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani, Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called for the missile strike by Israel’s closest ally, to be avenged
AFP via Getty Images
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Iranian women take to the streets in Tehran
EPA
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A demonstration in Tehran
AFP via Getty Images
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Thousands of Iranians take to the streets in Tehran
EPA
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Iranians mourn during a demonstration
AFP via Getty Images
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Kashmiri Shiite Muslims shout anti American and anti Israel slogans during a protest in Indian controlled Kashmir
AP
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Iranians burn a US flag
EPA
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A protester holds a poster with an image of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a demonstration in the Kashmiri town of Magam
AFP via Getty Images
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A screen displays a chart with the evolution of the Spanish index IBEX 35 at the stock market in Madrid, Spain. The IBEX 35 dropped by 0.53 percent to reach 9,640.60 units at the opening of the trading session, affected by tensions in Middle East after US selective attack against Soleimani
EPA
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Protesters burn a US flag in Tehran
AP
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A woman walks past an anti-US mural on the former US embassy’s wall in Tehran
VIA REUTERS
Even Parvaneh Salahshouri, a reformist member of parliament who has recently slammed the regime for its brutal crack-down of protests, came out in support of Soleimani and condemned the attack.
A senior reformist in Tehran, who did not want to be identified for security reasons, told The Independent that killing Soleimani is seen as the Trump administration’s second horrific act against Iranians, after the US President’s violation of the nuclear deal to which Iran was still committed. “They assassinated someone who was a symbol of national defence for many Iranians, and was probably the only senior commander who did not interfere in domestic politics,” the senior reformist said.
Activists warn that the killing will further securitise the atmosphere inside Iran and pave the way for a more militaristic approach by hard-liners. Tehran will see the attack as an act of war from the United States and its regional allies, and hard-liners will utilise the external threat to solidify power and sideline their domestic critics. Moderates who have been pushing for engagement with the West will be weakened even more and potentially pushed out of power in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Tehran will pursue an increasingly hard-line policy both domestically and abroad, and prospects of any negotiation with the United States will diminish.
“Qassem Soleimani’s assasination is the beginning of an emergency situation for the Iranian state,” said Amin Bozorgian, an Iranian sociologist living in France. “We don’t know what they will do in the region, whether they will retaliate or not, but this will definitely lead to a more closed atmosphere inside Iran and strengthen the IRGC,” he told The Independent.
In light of an imminent foreign threat and the wartime atmosphere, hard-liners will bring issues of stability and security front and centre in Iranian political discourse and with a much stronger justification, while any domestic opposition will be considered treasonous and harshly stifled.
Mr Bozorgian said the regime may not be able to retaliate against those who killed Soleimani, but will do so against its weaker and more accessible enemies. He told The Independent that in the final years of the Iran-Iraq war, Iran compensated for its weakness and loss by mass executions of political prisoners in the summer of 1988.
It is still not clear how Iran will respond to the killing of one of its most senior figures. The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has promised a harsh revenge, but did not provide any specifics as to when and against who.
Tehran will most likely wait and calculate a calibrated response that may not directly attack US forces but hurt America’s closest allies in the region.
“Some in Iran may want a quick response,” said Hamed Hadian, a hard-line journalist based in Tehran. However, a quick response could lead to a full-on war and so Iran will probably not do that, he told The Independent. “But the Middle East will not be safe for any American soldiers for years to come,” Mr Hadian added.
Tehran and Washington have been staunch enemies for four decades, fighting proxy wars against each other across the Middle East and coming close to direct confrontation at various times. But an attack of this magnitude has never happened before and is a complete game-changer. Now the ball is in Iran’s court and all eyes are on Tehran to see when and how the promised revenge is going to take place.
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