Some local reports have indicated that a senior Iranian commander has warned there will be harsher revenge soon, for the U.S in retaliation to the killing of General Qassem Soleimani. Tasnim news agency quoted a commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Abdollah Araghi. He threatened further reprisals after Iran launched missile attacks on U.S-Iraqi airbases. His comment came after Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran appeared to standing down following the strikes, which did not harm any U.S troops in Iraq. The view of Araghi appears to go against the position taken by the Iranian government. It is noteworthy that Tehran has signaled that it needs to stop the increasing tensions between the United States and Iran.
The foreign minister of Iran, Javad Zarif said in a statement on Wednesday that his government does not seek escalation, or war, but will defend itself against any aggression. The lack of U.S casualties in the strike has been viewed by some as an opportunity for Trump to calm tensions after he ordered the killing of Soleimani. An adviser to the Tehran government, Diako Hosseini said on Wednesday that the missile strike was planned to prevent major casualties. He said, “He should appreciate Iran’s ultimate restraint”. It is important that the IRGC is considered more hard-line in its domestic and foreign policies compared to the Iranian government.
The new head of the country’s Quds Force in the IRGC, Esmail Ghaani said he will continue the course pursued by his predecessor. Point to be noted that Pope Francis called on the two countries to avoid further escalation and pursue dialogue and self-restraint to avert conflict in the Middle East. He added that the tensions risked compromising the gradual process of rebuilding in Iraq. The president of the European Council, Charles Michel said he has spoken to Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and urged Iran to come back into compliance with the 2015 international nuclear agreement. Iran said on Sunday that Tehran would no longer respect restrictions on the enrichment of uranium following the killing of Soleimani.