Saudi editor: US elimination of Soleimani was 'act of heroism'
Newspaper says there are “more Soleimani’s” in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen
By BENJAMIN WEINTHALA MAN displays a picture of Quds Force head Maj.-Gen Qasem Soleimani (right) and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, both killed in an air strike at Baghdad Airport last Friday, during their funeral procession in Ahvaz, Iran, on January 5.(photo credit: HOSSEIN MERSADI/FARS NEWS AGENCY/WANA VIA REUTERS)
Khalid Al-Malik, the editor-in-chief of the Saudi Arabian Al-Jazirah daily, declared the US targeted killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani a “blatant act of heroism” in a recent column.Al-Malik wrote that the American neutralization of Soleimani, a US and EU-designated international terrorist, was “a point in favor of US President [Donald] Trump. But it is insufficient to redress the mistakes the US made in Iraq. “There are more Qassem Soleimanis in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, and if they are not taken care of in way that ensures the security and stability of these countries and of the other countries of the region and the world, Iran’s behavior will not change.”He added that “Iran’s terror network is wide and is not based on any one terrorist, nor are its agents confined to a single country.”The killing of Qassem Soleimani, he added “is a clear achievement and a point in favor of President Trump and the US administration, but it is not enough. The region now faces rounds of Iranian terrorism that will be [even] more numerous and varied.“The Iranians are making explicit threats to this effect, and are placing this at the top of their agenda as part of exacting revenge for the killing of the leader of evil, the criminal Qassem Soleimani. And what about Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Iran’s other proxies in various Gulf states and [other] Arab and Islamic countries?”The US-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) first translated Al-Malik’s column and posted it on its website on Thursday. Al-Jazirah is published as an Arabic-language broadsheet paper and had a readership of over 123,000 as of 2013.MEMRI wrote that the assassination of Soleimani was “met with numerous reactions in the Saudi press that expressed satisfaction at the severe blow dealt to the Iranian leadership, and also at the initiative taken by the US after a long period in which it avoided using military force against Iran, including after the mid-September attack on the Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. Conspicuous among these reactions was a January 10 article by al-Malik.”MEMRI also noted that “he also directed criticism at the US, noting that it is now paying the price for letting Iran take over Iraq and its decision-making.
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