Ahead of the anniversary of the martyrdom of Lt. General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the family of General Soleimani and a group of the organizers of events planned for commemorating the anniversary met with Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran on Wednesday.
"Those who ordered the murder of General Soleimani as well as those who carried this out should be punished. This revenge will certainly happen at the right time," Ayatollah Khamenei said in the meeting.
"Millions attending Martyrs Soleimani and Abu Mahdi’s funerals in Iraq and Iran was the first severe slap to the US. But the worse one is overcoming the hegemony of arrogance and expelling the US from the region. Of course, revenge will be taken on those who ordered it and the murderers," the Leader noted, Khamenei.ir reported.
"Martyr Soleimani defeated the front of arrogance both during his life and with his martyrdom. The US president said they spent 7 billion dollars in the region without achieving anything. The US failed to achieve its goals in Syria and Iraq. The hero behind this major task is General Soleimani."
"The martyrdom of General Soleimani is a historic incident. He is a national hero for Iranians and the Islamic nation. That's why Iranians from different backgrounds -even those least expected- honor him. He was the one who promoted the model of resistance among Islamic nations," the Leaser said.
Ayatollah Khamenei also warned against the US’ unrelenting hostility, saying, “Don’t trust the enemy. We saw what the US did under Trump and under Obama against Iran. Hostilities aren't particular to Trump for them to end with him going. Obama was also malicious to the Iranian nation. The 3 European countries have displayed utter malice and duplicity too."
"Lifting sanctions is in the enemy's hands. Nullifying them is in ours," the Leader said. "We should work more on nullifying than removing them. I don't say we shouldn't pursue removing sanctions. But sanctions that were supposed to be lifted according to the JCPOA, 4 years ago, have intensified."