UPDATE 2- Trump hawkish in first tweet after Soleimani's death

ADDS MORE FROM TRUMP TWEETS

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran “never won a war,” in the wake of the killing of a top Iranian commander in a U.S. airstrike in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

"Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!" Trump said on Twitter.

His remarks came after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's statement, which was reiterating Washington's commitment to de-escalation with Iran.

The U.S. confirmed Thursday that it carried out a strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds Force.

In a pair of tweets, Trump defended the assassination of Soleimani, saying the slain general should have been killed long time ago.

"General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more ... but got caught!" Trump said.

"He was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people, including the recent large number of PROTESTERS killed in Iran itself."

Although Iran is "not able to properly" admit it, Soleimani was both "hated and feared" within the country, the U.S. president said.

"He should have been taken out many years ago!" Trump added.

Noting that the U.S. has paid Iraq billions of dollars annually for many years, Trump said "that is on top of all else" the U.S. has done for Iraq.

"The people of Iraq don’t want to be dominated & controlled by Iran, but ultimately, that is their choice," he said in a latest tweet. "Over the last 15 years, Iran has gained more and more control over Iraq, and the people of Iraq are not happy with that."

"It will never end well!" Trump warned.

The Pentagon accused Soleimani of planning to carry out attacks on U.S. diplomats and service members in Iraq and the region, saying the slain leader was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members.

The attack came amid heightened Iranian tensions with the U.S. which culminated with the storming of the U.S. Embassy compound by Iraqis on Tuesday.