Iran Designates All US Forces 'Terrorists' For Killing General Qasem Soleimani

Iran's parliament passed a bill on Tuesday designating all US forces "terrorists" over the killing of a top Iranian military commander in a US strike last week. Qasem Soleimani, the popular head of the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm, was killed in a US drone strike outside Baghdad airport on Friday, ratcheting up tensions between the arch-foes.

Earlier, Iran unfurled a 'red flag of revenge' on an important mosque in after vowing to avenge the killing of its top general in an airstrike by US drones. The red flag was hoisted above the Jamkaran Mosque which is on the outskirts of the holy city of Qom, about 100 miles south of Tehran. In Shiite tradition, red flags symbolise both blood spilled unjustly and serve as a call to avenge a person who is slain. The text on the flag says: "Those who want to avenge the blood of Hussein".

The flag can be seen as a clear warning that Iran is getting ready to strike back at America. General Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds force and mastermind of its regional security strategy, was killed in an airstrike last week near the Iraqi capital's international airport. Soleimani and Mohandis were killed along with eight others in a precision drone strike early Friday as they drove away from Baghdad international airport in two vehicles.