Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claims that Israel “directed” the assassination of former top general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed last year in a US airstrike after arriving in Baghdad.
“The martyrdom of General Soleimani was directed by the Zionists, even though Trump was the commander and killer,” Rouhani says, without providing any evidence for the claim.
Rouhani, who was speaking during a cabinet meeting, makes the remarks after a leaked recording of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif bemoaning Soleimani’s power. Soleimani headed the Quds Force, the overseas branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and was considered the architect of Iran’s regional security strategy.
Iran’s president also calls former US president Donald Trump “a mercenary of the Zionist regime” and says “all his actions were provoked by the Zionists.”
“Of course, the previous US presidents were friends with the Zionists, but were not mercenaries,” he says.
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
