Gottheimer: We Must 'Contain The Threat Posed By Iran'

GLEN ROCK, NJ - Officials across New Jersey are reacting to the news Thursday that the U.S. military had killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, one of Iran's top military leaders and one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic. His death comes after President Trump ordered airstrike in Baghdad.

U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, who represents New Jersey's 5th district, issued a statement Friday, saying, "Qassem Soleimani has the blood of countless Americans on his hands and is responsible for IRGC’s extreme violence throughout the region. It is reported he was developing imminent plans to attack Americans, and I expect the Administration to brief Congress on their intelligence and long-term strategy."

Gottheimer also said, "We must act deliberately to contain the threat posed by Iran. The Administration should continue to work with Congress, our allies, and the international community to better restrain Iran's destabilizing and reckless conduct and harboring of terror in the region."

Soleimani was reportedly killed in a strike by a U.S. drone on a two-car convoy near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. At least a half-dozen other people, including an Iraqi militia leader, also were believed killed.

Iranian leaders have vowed "severe revenge" in the wake of the air strike. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called Soleimani and the others who were killed in the strike "martyrs."