Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Tuesday (January 3rd) that the "
murder
" of Qassem Soleimani will be "
avenged
" as thousands commemorate the third anniversary of the death of the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, ideological army of the Islamic Republic.
A charismatic and popular figure in Iran, General Qassem Soleimani was killed in an American raid in Baghdad on January 3, 2020. "
We have not forgotten and will not forget the blood of the martyr Soleimani
", declared Ebrahim Raisi.
He warned the "
murderers and organizers
" of the crime that "
the vengeance of martyr Soleimani's blood is certain and those who perpetrated the murder will not find sleep easily
".
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Defeat of "American hegemony"
Last year, Ebrahim Raisi held former US President Donald Trump responsible for the murder of Soleimani and swore revenge if he was not tried for his death.
But it looks like Trump isn't the only American on the list.
Iran has "
identified and prosecuted 154 defendants including 96 American citizens
", said justice spokesman Massoud Setayeshi.
The Iranian president assured that the defeat of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) was the prelude to the defeat of "
American hegemony
" in the world.
"
Martyr Soleimani defeated the United States, the supporters of the terrorist movement and the Islamic State in the region (...) and this was the prelude to the defeat of American hegemony in the world
", said he claimed as thousands of people waved flags and others carried pictures of the slain commander.
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President Raisi was addressing thousands of people gathered in the largest prayer hall in Tehran in memory of the former commander of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Guardians.
General Qassem Soleimani had been killed with his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis during a strike by American drones near the airport of the Iraqi capital.
Five days later, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a US air base in Ain al-Assad which housed US troops in Iraq, and another near Erbil in the north of the country.
No US soldiers were killed in those strikes, but Washington said dozens of people suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of the blasts.
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President Trump said at the time that he had ordered the drone strikes in response to a number of attacks on US interests in Iraq, and more were expected.
In Beirut, the leader of Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah declared Tuesday evening in front of his supporters on the occasion of this anniversary, that "
none of Trump's objectives
" were achieved with the assassination of General Soleimani and his deputy.
"
Our axis has been strengthened with their blessed blood, the axis of resistance, which we must strongly preserve and nurture
," he added.
