Iran to seek justice over assassination of Soleimani — diplomat

NEW YORK, July 17. /TASS/. Iran intends to bring to justice the perpetrators and masterminds of the assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qasem Soleimani, Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani told CNN.
Commenting on media reports about Tehran’s purported plans to assassinate ex-US President Donald Trump who in 2020 ordered to eliminate the Iranian commander, he said: “I told you explicitly that we would resort to legal and judicial procedures and frameworks at the domestic level and international level in order to bring the perpetrators and military advisers of General Soleimani’s assassination to justice.”
“We will only resort to Iranian and international legal and judicial procedures,” the diplomat said, replying to a question as to whether violent measures against Trump will be used.
“The Americans openly said that they assassinated the senior Iranian military commander. So it is our natural right in order to follow this issue, and those who are accused in this case, they should be brought to justice in a just court,” he added.
Soleimani was assassinated near Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020, by a US drone strike.
Earlier, CNN reported that Iran was allegedly plotting to assassinate Trump, which led to heightened security on behalf of the Secret Service. According to the TV channel, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was also a target. The official spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Iran’s permanent mission at the UN refuted these claims.
On July 13, an assassination attempt on Trump took place at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet grazed the ex-president’s ear, but he is in stable condition. As a result of the shooting, one of his supporters was killed and two were wounded. The attacker, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by Secret Service officers. The motives of the perpetrator are still unknown.