Rouhani says U.S. to pay price for killing Iranian general

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that the United States will pay a heavy price for assassination of Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), official IRNA news agency reported.

"Americans have taken a new approach that could put the region in a very dangerous situation," Rouhani said in a meeting with the visiting Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking tensions and insecurity," Rouhani said, adding that "What has brought tension and unrest to the region recently is the U.S.' unwise acts."

In the meeting, both sides called for boost of mutual ties.

Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a meeting with his Qatari counterpart that the United States is responsible for the consequences of the assassination of the Iranian general.

The visit by the Qatari official comes a day after the U.S. army assassinated the Iranian senior general in Baghdad.

Qatari Foreign Ministry has urged both Iran and the United States to exercise self-restraint amid the escalating tensions and to prevent from "taking Iraq and the region into endless violence."