Iran Seeking to Indict Dozens of Americans on Anniversary of Drone Strike That Killed Qasem Soleimani
Evan James
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An Iranian official has announced that his nation will indict 48 Americans, one of whom could be President Donald Trump, for their roles in the targeted killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani last year.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a special parliamentary aide, made the announcement Wednesday. Abdollahian claimed that the Iranian Judiciary has spent the past year collecting domestic and foreign documents related to the killing.
Prosecutor General of Tehran Ali Alqasi Mehr also announced that Iran has given “judicial representation” to the nations of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, Jordan, and Kuwait in order to “pursue the case.”
Iran has been determining ways to avenge Soleimani’s killing for some time now, but the feasibility of them is highly questionable. In June the Iranians issued arrest warrants for 36 people involved in the killing, though there is virtually zero possibility of Iran arresting and prosecuting them. This latest round of indictments appears to be yet another case of political theater.
Soleimani was a major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who commanded its Quds Force, the branch that specializes in extraterritorial and clandestine operations. He oversaw the Iranian presence in the Syrian Civil War and fought against the Islamic State (ISIS). He was killed on January 3, 2020, in a drone strike that specifically targeted him. President Trump has said that he personally ordered the strike.
The United States long considered Soleimani to be a terrorist for his role in the deaths and injuries of numerous American soldiers and his involvement with Hezbollah, which the US has formally considered a terrorist organization since 1995.
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