TEHRAN – Iran has taken new steps to proceed with its trial against the United States concerning the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, issuing an indictment against 73 American government and military officials.

The indictment, consisting of over 12,000 pages of documentation, was announced by Ali Alghasi-Mehr, the judiciary chief for Tehran province.

“After collecting more than 12,000 pages of documents, the 164-page indictment was issued against 73 American officials regarding the martyrdom of Hajj Qassem Soleimani and his companions and was referred to Tehran Criminal Court number 1,” he announced on Sunday. 

Alghasi-Mehr stated that a public trial will be held next month. “All the defendants, who are U.S. statesmen and military officials, have been officially notified of the case and required to introduce their lawyers,” he added. 

General Soleimani was assassinated during a U.S. drone attack on Baghdad on January 3, 2020. The Iranian military leader spearheaded the fight against Daesh terrorists in Iraq and Syria during the 2010s. He is widely regarded as an anti-terror icon. 

Iran retaliated against the assassination by striking the most important American military base in Iraq, which, according to American media, left hundreds of U.S. soldiers with “brain damage". The attack on an Iranian official who was inside Iraq at the country’s own request was also slammed by legal experts and UN investigators as a blatant and serious violation of international law. 

This is not the first time Iran has pursued legal action against the U.S. government. A separate case involving patients suffering from epidermolysis bullosa (EB) has resulted in a court order for the U.S. to pay $1.475 trillion in material damages and $5.310 trillion in compensation for the impact of American sanctions.

Additionally, a court ruling concerning the 2018 Ahwaz attack, blamed on a U.S.-backed terrorist group, demands $960 million for the families of victims, along with additional damages.