Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises Donald Trump for killing top Iranian general and says US has a ‘right to defend itself’
- Trump sanctioned the strike early today that took out General Qassem Soleimani
- Netanyahu said: ‘As Israel has the right of self-defence, the US has the same’
- Israel put its military on heightened alert and Netanyahu cut short a trip abroad
- Israel has not responded to the death of Quds Force chief Soleimani in Baghdad
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised US President Donald Trump ‘for acting swiftly, forcefully and decisively’ to eliminate an Iranian general in a missile strike.
As he boarded a flight home after cutting short a visit to Greece, he said: ‘Just as Israel has the right of self-defence, the United States has exactly the same right.’
Mr Trump sanctioned the strike that took out General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
As he boarded a flight home after cutting short a visit to Greece, he said: ‘Just as Israel has the right of self-defence, the United States has exactly the same right.’ He is pictured National Archaeological museum of Greece today
The President is seen speaking to advisers around a table (pictured) at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, in a post shared by Republican Leader in the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, as he launched the drone stirke
An American airstrike on Baghdad airport has killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s powerful Quds force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy-leader of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (pictured, the burning remains of a car that was among a convoy the men had been travelling in)
Israel put its military on heightened alert today and Netanyahu cut short a trip abroad after the US killing drew promises of revenge from Iran.
Israel, the US’s closest ally in the Middle East and Iran’s top regional enemy, has not publicly responded to the death of Quds Force chief Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in the US air strike in Baghdad.
But Netanyahu’s office confirmed he would return home early from Greece.
Israel’s Army Radio said the military was on heightened alert and Defence Minister Naftali Bennett met military and intelligence chiefs for a ‘situational assessment’.
Members of Netanyahu’s security cabinet have been asked not to comment on the high-profile killings, which Israeli media interpreted as a bid to stave off retaliation from Iran’s proxies and allies in the region.
Israel’s defence minister ignored orders by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep a low profile as the country prepares its response to the killing of an Iranian general in a US airstrike
Naftali Bennett released pictures of a security meeting in the military’s Kirya HQ in Tel Aviv just hours after the death of Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, Iraq
These include the Tehran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah, and the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, said the cabinet ‘received an instruction not to be interviewed on this subject’ when asked about the commanders’ deaths.
Dana Weiss, chief political analyst for Israel’s Channel 12 news, said: ‘The goal is clear: not to unnecessarily complicate Israel and keep the message as unified as possible.’
But Yair Lapid, an opposition lawmaker, congratulated US President Donald Trump on Twitter for killing those responsible for ‘murderous terrorist acts from Damascus to Buenos Aires’ and that Soleimani’s ‘blood is forfeit’.
Yair Lapid, an opposition lawmaker, congratulated US President Donald Trump on Twitter
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the Mount Hermon ski resort, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights close to the fortified frontier with Syria, had been closed ‘following an assessment of the situation’.
‘There are no further instructions to the residents of the Golan Heights area and routine activities continue as normal,’ he added.
Israel has long regarded Soleimani as a major threat.
In August last year the military said it had foiled a Quds Force attack, administered by Soleimani, involving multiple drones from Syria.
And Israel accused him of leading Quds Force efforts to establish a precision-guided missiles programme for Hezbollah.
The death of Soleimani (left), a figure deeply ingrained in the Iranian regime who many had assumed would be the country’s next leader, brings Iran and America to the brink of all-out war. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis had been instrumental in leading attacks on the US embassy (pictured right, outside the building)
Soleimani had just arrived on a flight from Syria, and was in a car leaving the airport when missiles from a US drone killed him
In Gaza, Hamas – which has long enjoyed financial and military support from Tehran – condemned Soleimani’s killing and sent its ‘dearest condolences’ to Iran.
Gaza-based Hamas official Bassem Naim wrote on Twitter that the assassination ‘opens the doors of the region to all possibilities, except calm & stability. USA bears the responsibility for that’.
The Iranian-backed Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, also based in Gaza, praised Soleimani as a leader ‘who always brought horror into the hearts of America and Israel’.
‘The alliance of resistance will not be defeated, will not be broken and its integrity will become stronger in confronting the Zionist-American project,’ Abu Hamza, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, said on Twitter.
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