Senior commander of the IRGC's Quds Forces Lieutenant-General Qasem Soleimani was assassinated in a terrorist operation in Baghdad Friday morning, official media resources said.
The Iranian foreign ministry tweeted that it had summoned officials from the Swiss embassy to express outrage at the “assassination of Lieutenant-General Qasem Soleimani”, saying it was a “blatant example of American state terrorism”.
Following the Swiss Foreign Ministry's announcement that its ambassador to Tehran had sent messages from the United States to Iran following the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi confirmed this in an interview with IRNA: For the second time, the Swiss ambassador to Tehran had been summoned as in charge of the interests of the United States in Iran and received a proper response to the US message.
Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned the Swiss Charge d'affaires to Tehran to convey protest the US terrorist act in martyring the glorious IRGC commander Qasem Soleiman.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi wrote on his Twitter account on Friday that the Charge d'affaires of Switzerland's embassy in Tehran was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to hear Iran's strong protest for the martyrdom of the IRGC's Quds Forces Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani by the US forces.
He said the diplomat has been told the US measure is a clear example of the state terrorism and the US regime will have to stand fully accountable for its consequences.
In another tweet Friday morning, Mousavi said that Iranian Foreign Mohammad Javad Zarif and the ministry's senior officials have had an extraordinary session on examine the issue of Major General Soleimani's martyrdom.
Iraqi media quoted official resources as saying that the Major General of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) and the acting commander of the volunteer Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), known as Hash al-Shaabi, Abu Mahdi Al-Mohandes, who were separately leaving Baghdad airport in two cars were targeted and assassinated.
Iraqi media said the US helicopters targeted both cars.
The assassination stands at top of news in Iraq, the region and the whole world.
The IRGC confirmed the martyrdom of the great commander in a statement.
In the statement, the IRGC said that the glorious commander of Islamic forces was martyred in a US helicopter attack on Friday morning at the culmination of his life long efforts to promote path of God.
6125**2050
Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish