Speaking at a Thursday ceremony in Tehran marking the anniversary of the “martyrs of resistance,” Pezeshkian said Soleimani embodied ethics, courage, justice-seeking and the defense of the oppressed, describing him as a lasting symbol for Iran and the wider region.
Pezeshkian denounced the United States and Israel for carrying out “state terrorism” through the targeted killing of Iranian elites, military commanders, scientists and anti-terrorism figures.
He said such criminal actions were carried out under the pretext of democracy and freedom, citing the killings of General Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as prominent examples.
Separately, officials recalled that on January 3, 2020, the US Central Command, acting under orders from then-President Donald Trump, assassinated Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the acting commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units.
Both men were leading figures in the fight against Daesh (ISIS) terror group.