The Trump administration’s top Iran envoy, Brian Hook, has vowed that the US is prepared to assassinate the new Quds Force commander if any further action is taken against the US. Brian Hook’s comments follow the instalment of Esmail Qaani as the top Iranian general. Mr Qaani vowed to avenge his predecessor “in a manly fashion”, and described the killing of Soleimani as “cowardly”.
Mr Hook’s message was delivered during an interview with Ashrq al-Awsat,an Arabic international newspaper.
He made the comments in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday.
Many see the remarks made by Mr Hook as a stark final warning to Tehran.
He said: “If Qaani follows a similar path of killing Americans, he will meet the same fate.
“The president has made clear for years that any attacks against American personnel or interests in the region will be met with a decisive response.
President Trump ordered the assassination of Qassem Soleimani on January 2, 2020.
He told Republican donors at his Mar-a-Lago estate that Soleimani was “saying bad things about our country” in the run up to the Iranian leader’s death.
READ MORE: Iran threat: Soleimani’s successor pledges ‘manly’ revenge against US
He added: “This is not a new threat. I think the regime now understands that they cannot attack America at will, and expect to get away with it.
“So we will hold the regime and its proxies accountable for any attacks on Americans, or on American interests in the region.”
The chances of a full-blown war seemingly came to an end when Iran accidentally downed a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 146 passengers and crew onboard.
However, it is speculated Mr Hook’s comments could cause tensions to flare again in the region, particularly as the US government has now openly threatened to kill another member of the Iranian military.
Speaking to Vox, Suzanne Maloney, an Iran expert at the Brookings Institution, a Washington Think Tank, said: “It’s wildly inappropriate and dangerous for an American diplomat to openly threaten individual assassinations of Iranian military commanders.
“There is a rhetorical and substantive difference between promising tough, decisive US responses to any attacks on Americans vice specific threats to kill individual commanders – especially from a State Department official.”
Iran is yet to respond formally to the claims, but the White House and the Pentagon have not stated whether Mr Hook’s comments are official US policy.
In the wake of the drone strike which killed his predecessor, Qaani told the Al-Jazeera news network: “We tell everyone, be patient and see the dead bodies of Americans all over the Middle East.”