The recent US drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani was an act of “state terrorism,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told CNN on Tuesday. Zarif warned that Iran will respond “proportionally” and “lawfully,” a reference to a recent threat by US President Donald Trump that if Iran would strike US targets, Washington would hit dozens of Iranian targets, including cultural sites. Iran’s foreign minister said that Trump “has no respect for international law and is prepared to commit war crimes — attacking cultural sites is a war crime.”
In response to the slaying of Suleimani, the leader of Iran’s powerful Quds Force, Iran has completely abandoned the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. In another sign of escalating tensions, the Iranian parliament on Tuesday adopted a motion to declare all US forces as “terrorists.” The vote, which passed unanimously, was followed by “death to America” chants Iranian by lawmakers.
