Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has appointed Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani as new head of Quds Forces, IRNA reported.

Ayatollah Khamenei noted that Brigadier General Ghaani was one of the prominent commanders and accompanied General Kassem Suleimani in the past few years.

The IRGC had earlier confirmed that the Quds commander, General Qasem Soleimani, was killed in a U.S. Air Force strike near Baghdad Airport.

All officials in Iran, including the leader of the Islamic revolution, strongly condemned the terrorist act, promising to take revenge on American forces. Iran announced a three-day mourning.

Over the past few years, General Soleimani has been one of the key figures in the fight against terrorism in Syria and Iraq.