DUBAI – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in the U.S. drone strike on January 3rd in Baghdad, had in fact tried to bring stability to the Middle East.
Soleimani was pursuing stability and calm in the Middle East. Rouhani said that if Soleimani had wanted to kill American generals, it would have been easy to in Afghanistan or Iraq or anywhere else but he did not do that.
Rouhani cited the missile strike which Iran carried out against a U.S. base in Iraq to retaliate for Soleimani’s death and said that the ballistic missile program was not meant for attacking neighbouring countries.
The missiles, Rouhani stated, were meant for use against terrorism and crimes. They were not meant for aggression and a peaceful co-existence is what people in the region desire.
Last month, the U.S. and Iran inched close to a full-blown conflict after the killing of the general and the subsequent retaliation, after which the situation seemed to dull out.
Trump’s administration said that Soleimani was targetted for plotting attacks on their interests and coordinated strikes on Iraq-based U.S. troops.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.
