Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh says Iran’s diplomatic apparatus will not rest until those responsible for the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani are brought to justice.
The spokesman made the remarks on Lebanon’s al-Ahed news website, on Sunday (Jan. 3) the first anniversary of the martyrdom of the senior Iranian counterterrorism commander who was assassinated by the United States early last year.
“Pursuing the case of General Soleimani’s assassination is among the priorities of the State Department. The diplomatic apparatus will continue its efforts until it brings those – who ordered, planned and committed these atrocities – to justice,” he noted.
The Americans “have committed a great act of folly” in committing this assassination, and they are “the main losers,” Khatibzadeh said.
He noted that the trend of driving the U.S. out of the region has accelerated since the assassination, and since Washington’s dream of disintegrating the regional resistance front has not been realized.
Shortly after the U.S. drone strike that killed Gen. Soleimani and some of his companions in Baghdad, Iraq’s parliament overwhelmingly passed legislation mandating the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Arab country’s soil.
“The United States believes it can influence public opinion by killing people, but history has proven that this policy is futile,” Khatibzadeh said.
Gen. Soleimani, who commanded the Quds Brigade of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was admired as the most influential and charismatic counterterrorism leader in the Middle East. He played a key role in helping Iraq and Syria fight foreign-backed terrorists, mainly the IS terrorist militia.
The commander-in-chief was assassinated Jan. 3, 2020, during a drone strike in the Iraqi capital on direct orders from U.S. President Donald Trump.
His Iraqi trench mate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi counterterrorism force, and several others were also killed when their convoy was attacked.
by Basit Abbasi – BN