Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump over killing of Gen Qassem Soleimani: report

Iran has issued an arrest warrant for US President Donald Trump and 35 others over the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani and has asked Interpol for help, Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said on Monday, according to the Fars news agency.

On January 3, a US Drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force. Washington blamed Soleimani for masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias on US forces in the region.

The Pentagon said US President Donald Trump had ordered Soleimani's "killing," after a pro-Iran mob this week laid siege to the US embassy. Declaring three days of mourning across the country, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to take "severe revenge" for Soleimani´s death.

Also read: Iran and 'free nations of region' to avenge general's killing: Rouhani

Trump had tweeted out a picture of the US flag without any explanation, as the pre-dawn developments marked the most major escalation yet in a feared proxy war between Iran and the US on Iraqi soil.

Who was Iran's General Qassem Soleimani?

Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US strike, was one of the most popular figures in Iran and seen as a deadly adversary by America and its allies.

General Soleimani, who headed the external operations Quds Force for the Guards, had wielded his regional clout publicly since 2018 when it was revealed that he had direct involvement in top-level talks over the formation of Iraq’s government.

It was no surprise at the time for a man who has been at the centre of power-broking in the region for two decades.

Soleimani has been in and out of Baghdad ever since, most recently last month as parties sought to form a new government.