Iranian leaders have responded with calls for revenge against the United States for the attack.
“His departure to God does not end his path or his mission, but a forceful revenge awaits the criminals who have his blood and the blood of the other martyrs last night on their hands,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a statement.
The flag of General Soleimani in defense of the country's territorial integrity and the fight against terrorism and extremism in the region will be raised, and the path of resistance to US excesses will continue. The great nation of Iran will take revenge for this heinous crime.
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 3, 2020
The Pentagon released a statement after the attack, saying, "At the direction of the president, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qassem Soleimani ... General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region."
"The flag of General Soleimani in defense of the country's territorial integrity and the fight against terrorism and extremism in the region will be raised, and the path of resistance to US excesses will continue," President Hassan Rouhani of Iran countered in his own tweet several hours after the strike. "The great nation of Iran will take revenge for this heinous crime."
In the wake of the attack, the Phoenix Police Department sent a hashtag-heavy tweet to their roughly 65,000 followers. The tweet was apparently meant to assure Phoenix residents that they were safe, but the message had the opposite effect, instead prompting panic, accusations of fear-mongering, and calls to delete the tweet.
"There are no known threats locally but the #safety and #security of the residents of #Phoenix is our number one concern. The Homeland Defense Bureau of the #PhxPD is in close contact with our local, state and federal partners regarding events around the world. #iran #soleimani," Phoenix police tweeted at 7:30 a.m. on Friday.
WTF? Stop with the fear mongering.
— Dave (@OneAtomicPunk) January 3, 2020
Seriously what the hell? Way to scare people
— BrianTempe (@brian_tempe) January 3, 2020
— Lindsey Cullnan (@thinnlinzzyy) January 3, 2020
I can't believe you would post this. Do you know this could cause sheer panic?
— Hope medina (@HopeHpramirez) January 3, 2020
I just saw this. Absolutely unreal. As if Arizonans have anything to fear today.... aside from maybe frostbite.
— JJ (@LiveinTempe) January 3, 2020
Amid backlash and an inquiry from AZfamily (3TV/CBS 5) "about any possible increased security measures," Phoenix police deleted the tweet.
Detective Luis Samudio, a spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department, told Phoenix New Times the department deleted the tweet because it was "not received as intended."
"The recent information that was sent on Twitter was only intended to inform the community that we are not aware of any threats and reassure the community that safety and security is our top priority," Samudio said in a statement emailed to New Times. "The Twitter post was not received as intended."
Phoenix police aren't alone when it comes to tweeting about monitoring threats following the airstrike in Baghdad. The commissioner of the New York Police Department, Dermot Shea, and the Los Angeles Police Department both shared tweets on Friday morning stating that they are monitoring the situation in Iran and currently have no evidence of credible threats against either major city.
The NYPD continues to closely monitor the events in Iran & across the region for any further developments. While there are no specific / credible threats to #NYC, we’ve deployed additional resources to key locations.
— Commissioner Shea (@NYPDShea) January 3, 2020
As always, if you see something, say something. 1-888-NYC-SAFE pic.twitter.com/JwL0mojnsS
While there is no credible threat to Los Angeles, the LAPD is monitoring the events developing in Iran. We will continue to communicate with state, local, federal and international law enforcement partners regarding any significant intel that may develop.
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) January 3, 2020
