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Soleimani’s murder may trigger new clashes between Shia militants, US forces - legislator

Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev noted that wars "are easy to start but very hard to stop"

MOSCOW, January 3. /TASS/. The killing of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, an elite unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in a US airstrike, will lead to more clashes between the Americans and radical Shia activists in Iraq and will exacerbate the situation in the region, Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house) Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev told reporters on Friday.

"That’s really sad news, a premonitory sign of more clashes between the Americans and radical Shia activists in Iraq. This is so far the worst-case scenario, which looks like the Americans’ revenge for a recent attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad," he said.

If the US missile strike, which killed the high-ranking Iranian general, was indeed revenge, retaliation will be forthcoming, he stressed. "I will be glad if I am mistaken, because wars are easy to start but very hard to stop," Kosachev added.

The Pentagon earlier confirmed that a missile strike near the Baghdad airport killed the head of the Quds Force Qasem Soleimani. The operation was carried out at the direction of US President Donald Trump, the statement said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared three days of national mourning in the country in the wake of the US strike, promising to take revenge on those behind the general’s murder.

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