Addressing a national conference in Tehran on Tuesday, President Rouhani pointed to the recent liberation of last strongholds of Daesh in Iraq and Syria and expressed his gratitude to all of the Muslim fighters, the Leader and the Iranian Armed Forces as well as the nations of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon on the collapse of the terrorist group’s self-proclaimed caliphate.
The president said the emergence of Daesh brought about nothing but “malevolence, misery, destruction, massacre and barbarism”.
He added that Daesh, which was sponsored and armed by some global powers and reactionary countries in the region, committed crimes that were unprecedented throughout history.
The elimination of the terror group is good news for the peoples of regional countries, including Iran, the president said, adding that the main work has been done by the peoples and armies of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and the Iranian nation only assisted them based on their religious duties.
In a message to Ayatollah Khamenei on Tuesday morning, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Quds Force Major General Soleimani declared that the notorious group’s rule has come to an end with the accomplishment of a mission to liberate Syria’s eastern city of Al-Bukamal, near the Iraqi border.
On November 19, Daesh terrorists were flushed out of their last stronghold in Syria’s Al-Bukamal. The city’s liberation marked an end to the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate it had declared in 2014.
Daesh militants made swift advances in northern and western Iraq over the summer of 2014, after capturing large areas of Syria.
But the timely support by Iran helped Syria and Iraq fight off Daesh. In addition, formation of military units by volunteers in Iraq, known as Hashd al-Shaabi or Popular Mobilization Units, blunted the edge of Daesh offensive and later made the terror group withdraw from the territories it had occupied.