Hours after the US strike that claimed the life of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, US Vice President Mike Pence stirred a hornet’s nest by tweeted what kind of “an evil man” the slain IRGC officer allegedly was.
As Pence tweeted what he considered to be the various alleged misdeeds of Soleimani, “who was responsible for killing thousands of Americans”, the US VP also alleged that the assassinated Iranian officer had provided assistance to some of the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States.
It appears, however, that most social media users would have none of the VP's claims, widely challenging Pence and his beliefs.
A number of people noted that Pence got the number of the 9/11 hijackers wrong. Attempting to control trhe blowback, according to the Independent, the VP's press secretary “later clarified that the vice president was referring to 12 of the 19 hijackers who ‘transited through Afghanistan’.”
Some suggested that Pence's assertions were an attempt to re-write history.
Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of an Iraqi Shia militia group, were killed by a US drone attack near Baghdad International Airport early on Friday, 3 January.
US President Donald Trump called the attack a preemptive, defensive strike, while Rouhani stated that Tehran will take revenge for what it views to be a terrorist action.