In a post on his X account on Thursday, Baqaei commemorated the fifth anniversary of the martyrdom of General Soleimani, who was assassinated in a US strike in Iraq in 2020.
The spokesman said while combats in the contemporary world rely upon weapons and bombs, General Soleimani gained a reputation as the “commander of hearts”.
Big commanders are not known for conquering territories, but for winning the hearts of people, which is why their achievements will last forever, Baqaei added.
He also hailed the late commander as the great hero of the fight against terrorism.
In January 2020, a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport assassinated General Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. The attack — that also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) anti-terror group, along with several others— came while General Soleimani was on an official visit to the Iraqi capital.
Both commanders were highly popular because of the key role they played in eliminating the Daesh terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.