Warns of retaliation

'We will respond proportionately': Iranian foreign minister warns of retaliation for Soleimani killing

Javad Zarif described the killing of the general as "state terrorism."

By QUINT FORGEY

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Tuesday warned Tehran would “respond proportionately” against the United States for the killing of Iran’s top military commander, and called upon President Donald Trump to “change course” and apologize as tensions in the Middle East continued to escalate.

“They killed one of our most revered commanders and most senior commanders, and they took responsibility for it,” Zarif told CNN, referring to a American drone strike near Baghdad's international airport Friday against Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's elite paramilitary Quds Force.

“This is state terrorism, this is an act of aggression against Iraq, and it amounts to an armed attack against Iran,” Zarif said. “And we will respond, but we will respond proportionately, not disproportionately, because we are committed to law. We are law-abiding people, we are not lawless like President Trump.”

The remarks from Tehran’s chief diplomat in a series of media appearances came after Trump tweeted Saturday that his administration had homed in on 52 sites in Iran, including some “important to ... the Iranian culture,” in case of retaliation from the Islamic Republic.

The president tweeted again Sunday that U.S. forces would “quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner,” should Iran attack American interests.

But Zarif asserted Tuesday that Trump’s threats “will not frighten us,” and accused him of suggesting military actions that would constitute war crimes.

“He’s showing to the international community that he has no respect for international law — that he is prepared to commit war crimes because attacking cultural sites is a war crime. Disproportionate response is a war crime,” Zarif said. “But he doesn’t care, it seems, about international law.”

Speaking with reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One, Trump defended his controversial proposal to target Iranian sites of cultural significance, which has been rebuked as a war crime by the president's critics and congressional Democrats.

“They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people,” Trump said. “And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn’t work that way.”

Defense Secretary Mark Esper broke with the president Monday over the potential military maneuver, insisting during a news conference at the Pentagon that the U.S. would “follow the laws of armed conflict.”

In a separate interview Tuesday with NPR, Zarif said the U.S. “will pay” for Soleimani's death, characterizing the airstrike that resulted in his death as a “cowardly armed attack” and an act of “both terrorism and war.”

“[We] will respond according to our own timing and choice,” he said.

Zarif also reported that the Trump administration had denied him a visa to attend a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York on Thursday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to say that “they didn't have enough time to review my request,” Zarif told “CBS This Morning” Tuesday, recounting his conversation with Guterres.

“That's not unexpected,” Zarif added. “But my question is, what are they afraid of?”