In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Brian Hook, the US Special Representative for Iran at the State Department warned that if Esmail Ghaani, the successor to Iran's Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani followed a similar path of killing Americans, he would suffer the same fate.

After Soleimani’s killing on Jan 3, the leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei appointed Esmail Ghaani as the new head of the Quds Force, the international arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Ghaani pledged to pursue Soleimani’s path.

“If he follows a similar path of killing Americans, he will meet the same fate, because the President has made clear for years that any attacks against American Personnel or interests in the region will be met with a decisive response, and the President demonstrated that on January 2,” said Hook.

He continued: “I think the regime now understands that they cannot attack America at will, and expect to get away with it. So we will hold the regime and its proxies accountable for any attacks on Americans, or on American interests in the region.”

Regarding Soleimani’s killing, Hook said: “We took the world's most dangerous terrorists off the battlefield ... And as a consequence, the region is going to be safer because Solemani was the glue that held together the proxies, and his death will create a void that the regime will not be able to fill.”

Hook added: “We aren't going to make a difference in the Middle East unless we take a comprehensive approach, and the big mistake of the Iran nuclear deal, among many, is that it was very narrow.”