While testifying in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, United States Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines stated that Iran is still trying to “seek revenge” against the United States for the 2020 assassination of IRGC Major General Qassem Soleimani.
Haines said she was not able to speak much on the matter because its classified, but stated that “A fair amount of their motivation in this scenario we assess to be in relation to Soleimani as part of their sort of efforts for revenge, and is a particularly challenging area, I think, to deter them from action in this space.”
Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said gained revenue from sanction relief on Iran “could increase targeting against our partners in the region as well as U.S. forces.”
Since the assassination, Iran has refused to give up its ambitions of seeking revenge against U.S. officials involved with the strike, including former President Donald Trump.
This January, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi vowed “revenge” if Trump is not criminally tried in court over the assassination of SoleimaniS. While speaking during during commemorations on the two year anniversary of Soelimani’s death, Raisi stated “If Trump and [former Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo are not tried in a fair court for the criminal act of assassinating General Soleimani, Muslims will take our martyr’s revenge,” adding “The aggressor, murderer and main culprit – the then president of the United States – must be tried and judged under the law of retribution, and God’s ruling must be carried out against him.” Iran has previously attempted to issue an international warrant for Trump’s arrest over the killing in January 2021 and has called on the UN to take action, but nothing has happened.
#WATCH: Website of #Iran’s supreme leader showcased animated video that appears to show a robot calling in a drone strike to assassinate former US President Donald #Trump More here: https://t.co/KBsvCz2TRA pic.twitter.com/DQgHGARGko
— Arab News (@arabnews) January 13, 2022
Soon after, Iran released a video threatening to drone strike Trump at Mar-A-Lago, stating “revenge is definite.”
More recently, IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri warned last month that “The enemy keeps sending messages that if we give up on avenging Soleimani, they will give us some concessions or lift some sanctions,” adding “This is pure fantasy. The Supreme Leader has emphasized the need for revenge and the Revolutionary Guards’ top commander has said that revenge is inevitable and that we will choose the time and place for it.”
While no “revenge” has taken place yet, other than routine attacks against American forces in Iraq and Syria, there have been threats made against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, South Africa Ambassador Lana Marks, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Special Envoy to Iran Brian Hook.
