Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, who was named the replacement of Qassem Soleimani as the Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, on Friday issued a warning to the US following the air strike in which Soleimani was eliminated.
"Everyone should be patient a little to see the bodies of American soldiers all over the Middle East," said Ghaani, according to a report in the Al Jazeera network.
Ghaani was appointed earlier on Friday by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to replace Soleimani.
Khamenei said in a statement that quoted by Reuters that the program of the Quds Force, the military unit responsible for projecting Iran’s influence via proxies across the Middle East, “will be unchanged from the time of his predecessor.”
Ghaani became deputy commander of the Quds Force in 1997 when Soleimani became the Force’s chief commander.
Khamenei on Friday mourned Soleimani's death and promised to enact revenge on the "criminals" and "murderers" who perpetrated it.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, "Soleimani's martyr's death will make Iran more determined in its opposition to US imperialism, and in the protection of Islamic values."
"Without a doubt, Iran and other peace-loving countries in the area will take revenge," he promised.
