On 8 January, Iran targeted two American facilities in Iraq, the Ayn al-Asad Air Base and in Erbil in retaliation for the killing of IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike several days earlier.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the day Tehran targeted US facilities in Iraq in response to the killing of the country's top military commander Qasem Soleimani was “a day of God”, Reuters reported.
“The fact that Iran has the power to give such a slap to a world power shows the hand of God”, Khamenei said while referring to the airstrikes against US military facilities.
The Iranian supreme leader's remarks were made as Khamenei led Friday prayers in Tehran, the first time he has done so since 2012. His comments were reportedly accompanied by chants of “Death to America!”
Khamenei said that Quds Force Commander Soleimani was “the most powerful” commander in the region's “resistance front”, and is being mourned by millions of supporters in Iran and thousands in Iraq.
He also noted that the killing of Soleimani was a “disgrace” to the American administration, showing the “terrorist nature” of the US, while also calling Donald Trump a “clown”, who only pretended to support the Iranian people.
Nevertheless, the supreme leader underlined that Iran's attack on the US military facilities last week was a “blow to America's image”, as quoted by AP.
