Iranians, Canadians Pay Homage to Gen. Soleimani in Edmonton
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A number of Canadian and Iranian people rallied in front of the Alberta legislature in Edmonton, Alberta, to pay tribute to IRGC Quds Force commander General Qassem Soleimani who was recently assassinated by the US in Iraq.
At least 50 people, holding candles waving Iranian and Canadian flags, gathered in front of the legislature and chanted slogans including “hands-off Iran.” Others carried pro-peace signs.
Several lit candles and placed them in front of a framed photo of Gen. Soleimani.
“We are organizing this because of this terrorist attack on our military general,” said Masoud Shadnam, a MacEwan University business professor, who helped organize the rally, the Observer reported.
“He’s widely known in the region … as someone who has actually defeated ISIS (Daesh), saving millions of people,” Shadnam said.
“The United States by assassinating this person … has done a grave mistake. They have done no service to the people of the Middle East.”
He called for the Canadian government to remove the Quds Force from its list of terrorist entities, saying “they have been saving many people in our region from the likes of ISIS and al-Qaeda.”
Hamid Maadi, a University of Alberta Ph.D. candidate who planned to attend the rally, said the killing of Soleimani “increases the tension in the region. We believe the region cannot tolerate another war.”
General Soleimani, the deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd al-Sha'abi, and a number of their entourage were killed in a strike by American drones near Baghdad International Airport in the early hours of Friday.
The White House and the Pentagon confirmed the assassination of General Soleimani in Iraq, saying the attack was carried out at the direction of US President Donald Trump.
In a message on Friday morning, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei warned that harsh revenge awaits the criminals behind the martyrdom of General Soleimani.
