UN: The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations described the killing of one of his country’s top generals as an act of war, US media reported late Friday.
The death of Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad was the most dramatic escalation yet in spiraling tensions between Iran and the United States, despite President Donald Trump’s insistence he did not want war.
But, speaking to CNN late Friday night, Iranian ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi said: “In fact was an act of war on the part of the United States and against Iranian people.”
“Last night they (the US) started a military war by assassinating by an act of terror against one of our top generals. So what else can be expected of Iran to do? We cannot just remain silent. We have to act and we will act,” he said.
“We can’t just close our eyes to what happened last night. Definitely there will be revenge, a harsh revenge.”
“The response for a military action is a military action. By whom, by when, where? that is for the future to witness,” he ended the interview by stating.
The remarks follow Trump, speaking on Friday night to Evangelical supporters in Miami, saying that Soleimani was planning “a very major attack” and that he had been preparing multiple “attacks against Americans.”
Soleimani — long seen as a deadly adversary by the US and its allies — was one of the most important power-brokers across the region, setting Iran’s political and military agenda in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
Iranian ambassador to UN says Soleimani death an ‘act of war’
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Iranian ambassador to UN says Soleimani death an ‘act of war’
- US President Trump insists he did not want war
- He said Soleimani was planning “a very major attack”
Latest US sanctions target Houthi funding networks, Treasury says
- Since 2023, the Houthis have launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea that they deem to be linked with Israel
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration issued fresh sanctions on Friday further targeting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and the transfer of oil products, weapons and other so-called dual-use equipment that it said helped fund the group.
The action targets 21 individuals and entities as well as one vessel, including some alleged front companies in Yemen, Oman and the UAE, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement.
“The Houthis threaten the United States by committing acts of terror and attacking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.
The move builds on previous Treasury action to pressure the Houthis “vast revenue generation and smuggling networks, which enable the group to sustain its capability to conduct destabilizing regional activities,” including the Red Sea attacks, the department added.
Since 2023, the Houthis have launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea that they deem to be linked with Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war on Gaza.
Tehran’s regional sway has been weakened by Israel’s attacks on its proxies, including on the Houthis in Yemen. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Daphen Psaledakis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
