Chinese embassy in US issues safety warning as tensions rise over killing of Iran’s military chief Qassem Soleimani

Chinese citizens in the US should ‘closely watch the security situation, stay alert and take safety precautions’, mission says

Iran promised to retaliate after head of Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force was killed in a US air strike on Friday

Reading Time:2 minutes

Security has been tightened across the United States after the killing of Iran’s military chief on Friday. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:58pm, 5 Jan 2020Updated: 8:39pm, 17 Feb 2020

The Chinese embassy in Washington has issued a safety warning to Chinese citizens living in the US, amid increased security risks there following the killing of Iran’s top military commander major general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq on Friday.

“The Chinese embassy suggests and reminds Chinese citizens in the US to closely watch the security situation, stay alert and take safety precautions, be cautious before going to public places,” it said in a statement on Sunday.

Anyone who fears or encounters a possible threat should contact the embassy or their local consulate, or call the Chinese foreign ministry’s 24-hour emergency hotline, it said.

Soleimani, who was head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, was killed in an air strike near Baghdad airport that was approved by US President Donald Trump.

Tehran said it would retaliate, prompting the US to raise the threat level to American personnel and assets overseas, and increase security across America, including in the capital, Washington.

Tehran has promised to avenge the death of its military chief, Qassem Soleimani. Photo: AP

Trump said on Twitter on Saturday that the US was targeting 52 sites in Iran and would hit them “very fast and very hard” if the Islamic republic attacked US personnel or assets.