He was appointed to the head of the courts force. Tasked with dealing with irans. Interest and. In the middle east he was not only a man who wasnt very much revered within the general population but he was also known for his military skills he was believed to be extremely tactical his skills were also put to very good use in syria and iraq where he consulted both the assad regime as well as in the governments of the iraqi the various governments in iraq in the fight against eisel there are many iranians believe that this is a very serious escalation this is the United States telling iran that it has carried out an act of war theres a thank you study there of course well come back to you to check in on developments in iran as we continue to follow this story its just gone 6 g. M. T. Grant and here at aljazeera were bringing you rolling coverage of a major breaking news story lets bring you the latest as we understand it the south irans Supreme Leader ayatollah ali how many has vowed revenge after a u. S. Strike cuties senior military command solomonic he was assassinated in a predawn attack in the iraqi capital baghdad so the body was the leader of the elite Al Quds Force a division of revolutionary guard school which has far reaching influence in iraq syria lebanon and the on the pentagon has released a statement confirming the strike was carried out on the orders of the u. S. President donald trump and that the military has taken Decisive Action to protect u. S. Personnel the brewery by killing customs all the money the head of the Iranian Revolutionary guard corps could force the u. S. Does ignited Foreign Terrorist Organization donald trump to authorizing that strike is also tweeted no woods from him just a picture of the american flag. But it wasnt just the money who was killed the u. S. Forces have also killed the defeated commander of the iranian backed coalition of obdurate in iraq. From the Popular Mobilisation forces was killed when the airstrike targeted hes vehicle on the road to the Baghdad Airport and we have correspondents covering the story from all angles gabrial elizondo is live for us in washington d. C. Is live in terror ron but 1st well go to some other 14 whos live in baghdad and some other weve been discussing this throughout our breaking coverage people to study to wake up to this news there have been celebrations in some parts but also concern in others and the Iraqi Government concerned about something that is a breach of its sovereignty what are they signed. Well there are certainly a lot of mixed feelings the Immediate Reaction in the streets was some celebrations and this is these are of course people who have been camping out in the back got to her square but also in squares across some other iraqi cities as part of 3 months of antigovernment protests and also protests that oppose it rain an influence here so at 1st the news was met with euphoria with people basically celebrating the deaths of kassam sulaimani and the hundreds but on the broader spectrum there is a lot of concern here about what will happen next about whether any military escalation Going Forward will happen on iraqi soil and whether it could claim iraq in lives now of course iraq is a country that has been embroiled in turmoil for much of the past 16 years since the u. S. Led invasion in 2003 and it has only just come out of some of these wars especially the latest for against isis it was officially territorially defeated in 2017 and since then weve seen a rare period of the village until antigovernment protests began 3 months ago but of course now there is great concern that there could be a military escalation between the iranian backed Popular Mobilization of forces on the ground and the u. S. Forces that are based here and some other of course as youre speaking to us were getting information coming in and out of here i want to just bring this to you and then well go back to you for a response these are some of the reactions from antigovernment protesters in baghdad the killing of just some sort of money and mojados will eliminate the corrupt parties which are destroying iraq america and iran should solve their problems outside iraq we do not want them to solve it inside iraq because this will not cause we in Tahrir Square do not celebrate the killing of solid body or anyone else because this will not. Us at the end of the day and some other this really does capture doesnt that the paradox of the bind that iraqi people find themselves in they want this over they want a government that is accountable to them trust the government they dont trust the iranians they dont necessarily trust the americans other. Precisely and that statement there to reflect the complexity of the situation because basically what people have been asking for for months is for the government to really step up and to reassert its sovereignty to get rid of iranian influence and the government will simply not able to do that now the u. S. Has taken out some of the major leaders responsible for basically wielding a lot of influence over the Iraqi Government which on the one hand serves the demands of those protesters but on the other hand they also oppose u. S. Intervention here to also oppose u. S. Presence some people still regard the u. S. Presence here as an occupation even though u. S. Forces are now here at the invitation of the Iraqi Government and of course the Iraqi Government itself has yet to speak but it will likely be a condemnation of what appears to be a unilateral strike when the u. S. Struck the hizbullah brigade positions on sunday there were strong condemnation from inside the government basically Prime Minister abdullah the as well as the president condemned those strikes are calling for disassociation of any kind of military action that does not go through the official command and control structures here in iraq but of course that is not the case weve seen the u. S. Carry out it another unilateral strike we understand that the Iraqi Intelligence Services were not informed that this strike was going to happen so the Iraqi Government is likely to criticize this action and likely to call upon the all sides once again to really deescalate the situation but the problem is that there is an abundance of military actors here on the ground so the stage appears set for escalation weve had the hezbollah brigades which is the group that was targeted in the latest u. S. Air strike basically already come out of a Statement Last night saying that they are prepared for military action against the United States and there was even there was before. So you can only imagine. Theyre prepared to do in order to retaliate against those latest actions some other thank you for that some other 14 live there in baghdad but we are getting information coming in constantly of course as we continue to follow this Story Information and also video as we get it now hizbollah t. V. Has posted a video of what it says was the right to some salomone several strikes as you can see on your screen there civil strikes can be seen members of the if there is a Popular Mobilization force apparently needing to decide how to respond that video coming from hizbollah t. V. They will cross the doors to bahrain who joins us from tehran is it possible to say doors are as there are emergency meetings got under way there that what the Supreme Leader manes when he says. Revenge revenge what are the options here what do you read into that. Yes well its very difficult to say at this point we know that the Supreme NationalSecurity Council will be meeting at some point on friday that is headed by the president Hassan Rouhani as well as the head of the egypt to sherry in the speaker of parliament that meeting is really to the side under the guidance of the Supreme Leader whats to do next in response to this assassination and we also know that the foreign minister is been meeting with various officials in the Foreign Ministry for them they will also issue a response as well and they have summoned the swiss charge that they are fair in the capital of the swiss embassies in charge of dealing with irans relationship with the United States since the 2 dont have diplomatic relations so all these events are unfolding as we speak and the Supreme Leader statement is very very clear that this will not go unnoticed or unpunished the blood that has been spilled of course until the money will not be in vain and hes been martyred his the cause that hes been fighting for that islam will go on and his followers his. Believers will carry on his message and his work but that it will not go unpunished it will be a severe response we understand that there could be retaliation in within iraq to various u. S. Interests in that country also in the region its not out of the question but its very difficult to speculate at this point what we can say is that many iranians are waking up to this news on friday which is the weekend here shocked and in disbelief or in the house and so the money wasnt just the leader of the courts force working outside of iran pursuing irans agenda outside of this country and in the region he was a very much revered figure he fought in the iran iran iraq war between 191988 seed was then appointed to the head of the courts force in the early ninetys he had a very close relationship with the Supreme Leader hes seen as a National Hero inside the country and his death will certainly unite all of the unions against the United States further. And this will be seen as a severe escalation in relationship between the United States and to us or brings into place many things even particularly irans ambitions and its influence inside iraq there have been protests for months of people saying they want iran out of the out of there if it is there have been reportedly some celebrations today at the death of superman and then there are questions about what sort of body was doing inside iraq as well talk to that question of iran it seems that once inside iraq and where this goes to give. Well Major General last until the money really became very active in iraq. At the request of the former Prime MinisterNuri Al Maliki at a time when i still was at the foot steps of the capital baghdad and there was a request made by the Prime Minister is that that time to the americans for them to help the iraqi forces to fight i felt and he himself has said that that called went unanswered by the u. S. Forces in iraq at the time that is when and so the money really showed up very quickly very fast with a lot of firepower and that is when they started fighting eisel in Northern Iraq and prevented them from reaching baghdad that is when i asked him some money really became this huge figure this iconic military figure within the. Military circles in iraq and iran as well there are videos that circulate of him at his at that time in the battlefields in iraq in Northern Iraq and since then his relationship has only strengthened these said he had set himself in the past that the iranian outlook force had supplied military training and of weapons to various shia militias within iraq that are not part of the government as of 2018 so his relationship in iraq was not a secret it was not a hidden fact he was there at the request of the Iraqi Government he was there consulting various militias and military units and he was involved in the government in the process that was going on but the iranian position is that he was there at the Iraqi Governments request he wasnt asserting iranian influence inside iraq that is of course the view from here d but his presence in iraq and his views on him in the past few weeks in the months leading up to the protests that weve seen vary depending on where you go what you who you speak to but in general. The view from the Islamic Republic is that. He was a man who was there there were questions of the Iraqi Government the same way that he was in syria he was very much active in syria in the war in syria fighting along the assad regime and his forces training and providing military aid and intelligence to the Syrian Government over the past 67 years so he was a very well known figure in this region and the agenda that was present for him and for the Islamic Republic is one to strengthen me share a position within the region not to let other influences such as the americans and the saudis and the israelis gain a strong foothold in those countries and that was really the point. To make sure that irans interests are secured in the region to make sure that iran stays stable and secure those to thank you joining us there from toronto but of course there is a lot of reaction coming in from different sources to this story and the u. S. Actions provoked a strong reaction in political circles in Washington DemocraticHouse Speaker nancy pelosi has accused the trump of destruction of putting American Service members diplomats and others at risk is what she said in her statement to the arts is strike risks provoke you through the dangerous escalation of violence america and the world cannot afford to have tensions escalate to the point of no return the full Congress Must be immediately briefed on the situation of the syria situation and all the next steps including the significant escalation of deployment of additional troops to the region. Of us on easy in washington d. C. And joins us now predictably this is study to harden along partisan lines theres been a whole lot of reaction today from political sources as well as official comment as well take us through what youve got so. Yes a little after 1 in the morning here 115. 00 to be exact here on the east coast of the United States in washington its been a little over 3 hours since the pentagon confirmed that they killed so low money and i think we just need to one second here just to set the stage of where were at in washington right now the pentagon while releasing that statement confirming they killed somani has not had any briefing the pentagon has not released any sort of operational details on how they actually exactly what about killing solo money theres no other information thats been released from the pentagon at this point and we probably dont expected given the early hour mornings of friday now going to the white house and President Donald Trump still also no statement from the president as well and no word from the white house if and when we will hear from the president that being said though we are starting to hear as you mentioned from important lawmakers and its really splitting a little bit down partisan lines a little bit here and let me just read a couple things that we got here 1st from Lindsey Graham the senator from South Carolina probably one of the most hawkish senators in congress and by no coincidence probably one of trumps key allies as well Lindsey Graham tweeted earlier that he appreciates President Donald Trump says he says bold action against iranian aggression Lindsey Graham tweeting the price of killing and injuring americans has gone up drastically major blow to Iranian Regime that has american blood on its hands that kind of summarizes the sentiment from republicans that weve heard from in Congress Others such as marco rubio as well but we are hearing from democrats as well this is really important and i want to read this to you this is from former Vice President joe biden who is also one of the Top Democrats running for the. A democratic nomination to run against trump in the election next year biden put out a pretty long statement actually and he has a much different view of this he says that the Administration Statement says that the goal was to deter further attacks from iran biden says quote but this action almost certainly will have the opposite effect also and biden statement listen to this he says President Trump has just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox and he concludes by saying we could be on the brink of a major conflict across the middle east i hope the administration has thought through the 2nd and 3rd order consequences of the path that is chos