Qasem Soleimani, Iranian general killed by US forces in Iraq. Undated
An Iranian prosecutor says 124 people have been indicted in absentia for the killing of Iran’s general Qasem Soleimani by US drones in Baghdad, in January 2020.
Saeed Farhadinia, special prosecutor in the international crimes division of Iran’s judiciary told local media on Monday that Soleimani’s case file remains open and is based on several legal principles, including international conventions against terrorism.
He also cited a friendship treaty between Iran and the United States from the 1950s, when Tehran was Washington’s ally. The Trump administration abrogated the agreement in 2018.
Former president Donald Trump ordered Soleimani’s killing citing threat of terror attacks against US forces and interests in the Middle East. Soleimani was Iran’s top military and intelligence operator in the region.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other officials have repeatedly called for revenge for the assassination and Trump has been mentioned as target number one.
Farhadinia said that Iran has no way of bringing the suspects it has identified to trial. Although he did not mention any names, the indicted individuals are assumed to be mostly US and Israeli officials.