In a message released on the first anniversary of martyrdom of General Soleimani, who was assassinated in a US airstrike in Iraq in January 2020, the Iranian defense minister said Washington made a strategic mistake and miscalculation, because the loss of the popular commander and his companions has not stifled the resistance front.
The martyrdom of General Soleimani has strengthened the front of resistance, the minister said, adding that resistance has now turned into a regional ideology and discourse.
He also paid tribute to General Soleimani as a brave commander of the fight against terrorism who thwarted all American calculations in the region, which is why the US decided to assassinate him.
The US created the Daesh terrorist group in the region and had plans to keep them for years to invade and occupy other countries, but Lt. General Soleimani and his courageous forces defeated the global arrogance’s plots, Hatami added.
“Nations across the region and the world will realize that the US committed such a crime ... in order to support Daesh,” the defense minister said, according to the government's official website.
Without the efforts of General Soleimani and his comrades, including the armed forces and popular fighters in Syria and Iraq, the Daesh terrorist group would have conquered the entire region, he added.
Europe, Asia and the US owe their security to General Soleimani’s devotion and efforts for the establishment of sustainable peace and security, he stated.
The Iranian minister denounced US President Donald Trump’s “criminal and cowardly” move to assassinate Genera Soleimani as an “ill-advised measure” that resulted from frustration and was aimed at making up for the American defeats in the region.
“The notion that physical elimination of a person would halt the resistance current was a strategic mistake that Trump made. With his move, he (Trump) has increased the costs of presence of American forces in the region,” Brigadier General Hatami underlined.
He also said that confrontation with the US forces in the region should turn into a constant demand, saying the withdrawal of US from the region is the least price it has to pay.