The attorney general of Iran has issued an arrest warrant for President Donald Trump over the drone airstrike that killed Revolutionary Gen. Qassem Soleimani earlier this year.
The U.S. had accused Soleimani of carrying out terrorist attacks on Americans and hundreds of others throughout the region.
Soleimani was the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force and a senior commander, according to a statement from the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who confirmed U.S. involvement several hours after the January attack.
»READ: President Trump’s statement on Iran
Tensions in the region ran high for weeks after the American-targeted killing of Soleimani, Tehran’s top general and the architect of its interventions across the Middle East.
Iran had vowed "harsh retaliation" for the U.S. airstrike, which was ordered by Trump and carried out near Baghdad International Airport. The Middle Eastern nation launched a series of retaliatory airstrikes at several bases throughout the region where American soldiers were housed. Several members of the U.S. military were injured.
After the Iranian retaliatory strikes, Trump said Iran was standing down and had targeted military bases with light concentrations of American troops.
»MORE: Bombs strike Iraqi military base, injuring four
After Soleimani's death, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a rare public appearance to deliver a fiery address in which he insisted Iran would not bow to U.S. pressure after months of crushing sanctions and a series of recent crises, including his own government's accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian commercial jet.
Khamenei said the mass funerals for Soleimani showed the Iranian people support the Islamic Republic. A stampede broke out during Soleimani’s funeral, killing more than 50 and injuring hundreds.
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