Gen. Soleimani’s legacy of defeating terrorism, extremism will go down in history: Foreign Ministry spox

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has paid homage to Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top anti-terror commander who was assassinated by the US regime last year, saying his legacy of defeating terrorism and extremism in the region will not be forgotten for years to come.

In an interview with Fars news agency published on Saturday, Khatibzadeh described General Soleimani as a source of pride for Iran and the region, saying his unforgettable legacy was “the defeat of terrorism and Daesh’s extremism and Salafism in this region.”

January 3 marks the first anniversary of the assassination of General Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC Quds Force, and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), who were martyred in a US drone strike outside Baghdad International Airport.

The criminal act, which was directly ordered by US President Donald Trump, gave rise to a massive turnout at the two commanders’ funerals in Iran and Iraq, which was followed by growing anti-American sentiments that reverberated across the Middle East and around the globe.

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“Perhaps it was due to the blessed blood of the martyr (Soleimani) that we managed to successfully shed light on the nature of this cowardly assassination,” Khatibzadeh said.

He said the US was trying to show its own distorted narrative to the region and the world, but the ill-judged assassination exposed the truth about the regime in Washington.

The spokesman also noted that Iran’s Judiciary is expected to issue sentences for the terrorist act’s perpetrators and accomplices, saying the Foreign Ministry would pursue the case in international courts once the sentences are issued.

Iran has vowed to identify the assassins of General Soleimani and bring them to justice.

In remarks late last month, Khatibzadeh said Iran will spare no efforts in bringing the assassins of General Soleimani, especially Trump, to justice.

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The head of the Iranian Judiciary's High Council for Human Rights also said in late December that 48 culprits have been identified in connection with the assassination of General Soleimani.

"Some 48 culprits have been identified [in relation to Lt. Gen. Soleimani's assassination] and all necessary measures have been taken to prosecute them," Ali Baqeri-Kani said on December 28.

He added that countries, which have been somehow involved in this crime, have been asked to provide relevant information and documents to the Iranian Judiciary.

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President Hassan Rouhani said recently that the lame-duck American president will ultimately face the same fate as that of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, pointing out that what the “two maniacs” have in common is their wars against Iran.

“There were two maniacs who waged wars against the Iranian people; one was Saddam who imposed a military war and the other was Trump who started an economic war on us,” President Rouhani told a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday.

Rouhani also said on Thursday that Trump committed many crimes and killed many people, “but we will never forget these two cases, making a reference to the assassination of Soleimani and Muhandis.

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