The killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US strike on Baghdad threatens to inflame the situation in the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday. “This action can seriously aggravate the situation in the region,” the Kremlin quoted him as saying during a telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron. Also, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said Friday the “world cannot afford” another Gulf war, following the killing of Iran’s top military commander by a US strike. The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf,” the statement added. The United States announced early Friday that it had killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, in a strike on Baghdad’s international airport.

Source: Punch January 03, 2020 15:45 UTC