Tehran | Jagran News Desk: Hours after the death of General Qasem Soleimani, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday appointed Esmail Qaani as the new head of the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm.
"Following the martyrdom of the glorious general haj Qasem Soleimani, I name Brigadier General Esmail Qaani as the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement posted on his official website.
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Following Soleimani's death, President Trump, now on vacation in Florida, did not comment immediately, except for tweeting an image of the US flag.
The strike comes days after Trump threatened Tehran after Iraqi supporters of pro-Iranian regime factions laid siege to the US embassy in Baghdad, following deadly American air strikes on a hardline Hashed faction. The Pentagon alleged that the strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.
"General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more," the Pentagon said in a statement.
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Following the air strike, the US has also issued a travel advisory to its citizens in Iraq asking them to depart immediately due to the heightened tensions following the killing of Iran's elite Quds Force chief.
"US citizens should depart via airline while possible, and failing that, to other countries via land," read a statement issued by the US Embassy in Iraq.
Iran warned of "severe revenge" and said arch-enemy the United States bore responsiblity for the consequences after killing one of its top commanders.
(With agency inputs)