Iran threatens to avenge Soleimani's death 'in US' own home'

Iranian Quds force commander Esmail Ghaani speaks during a ceremony on the occasion of the first anniversary of death of former Iran's Quds force commander Qasem Soleimani in Tehran, on January 1, 2021 [STR/AFP via Getty Images]

 January 2, 202

Esmail Ghaani, commander of the Quds Force in Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), has threatened to avenge Qasem Soleimani's death "in the US' own home."

This came in a speech that Ghaani gave during a ceremony organised at the University of Tehran on Friday, to commemorate the first anniversary of the assassination of the late Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US raid on 3 January, 2020.

"The martyr Soleimani was assassinated by the world's most brutal men," Ghaani declared with reference to President Donald Trump, who announced that he had ordered the assassination.

The Iranian commander added: "I say frankly that the path of the Quds Force and the resistance forces will not change because of the evils committed by the United States. Even in your home (in the US) there may be people who will pay for this crime."

In early 2020, Washington assassinated Soleimani in an airstrike near Baghdad International Airport, prompting Iran to respond a few days later by targeting two military bases in Iraq where US soldiers were deployed.