“The Americans once again showed their criminal face to the world and proved their terrorist nature to everyone,” he noted.
General Akar, for his part, expressed his condolences to the Iranian nation over Martyr Soleimani’s assassination and said creating tension and instability in the region is not in the interest of any regional country.
The Turkish defense minister added that his country always calls for sustainable security in the region.
General Soleimani, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was the deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd al-Sha'abi (PMU), and a number of their entourage were killed in a strike by American drones near Baghdad International Airport on Friday, January 3.
The White House and the Pentagon claimed responsibility for the assassination of General Soleimani in Iraq, saying the attack was carried out at the direction of US President Donald Trump.
In the early hours of Wednesday, January 8, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the US airbase of Ain al-Assad in retaliation for the US move.