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Tehran: A ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of the assassination of former Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani began in the Iranian capital Tehran on Friday.
The commemorative activities of Soleimani, who was killed in a US raid on January 3, 2020, are scheduled to continue for a week.
The ceremony held at the University of Tehran, on the occasion of the anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination, according to the Iranian calendar, witnessed the presence of large crowds.
The event was attended by several senior political and military officials of the country, as well as representatives of Iran’s allies in the region.
The ceremony also included speeches by representatives of the Lebanese “Hezbollah”, the “popular crowd” in Iraq and the Syrian regime.
The head of the Iranian judiciary, former presidential candidate Ibrahim Raisi, renewed calls for revenge for the murder of Soleimani, stressing that “severe revenge awaits the perpetrators of the crime.”
He added that “the outgoing US president, Donald Trump, should not consider himself immune from punishment.”
For his part, the commander of the Quds Force in the Revolutionary Guard, Ismail Qaani, threatened the United States with revenge on Qasem Soleimani in his backyard.
The Revolutionary Guard commander, Major General Hossein Salami, said his country is “prepared for any eventuality,” referring to the recent escalation with the United States in the Gulf region.
On Wednesday, the US Central Command announced the dispatch of two additional “B-52” bombers to the Middle East with the aim of “deterring aggression,” amid continuing tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Amid fears that Iran is planning to respond on the first anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination, Trump said “there is talk of launching new attacks on Americans in Iraq.”
On Wednesday, Trump warned Iran against being held accountable in the event that US facilities in Iraq come under attack.
In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thursday that there are intelligence reports from Iraq indicating the existence of a “plot to manufacture an excuse for war” against his country.
On Thursday, President Hassan Rouhani described Soleimani’s assassination as an “unforgivable crime” and stressed that “a revenge decision will be made at the appropriate time.”
In turn, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the United States “violated international law and the Charter of the United Nations” by assassinating Soleimani.
He added, in a statement, that Iran will not calm down until those responsible for Soleimani’s murder are brought to justice.
In early 2020, Washington assassinated Soleimani with an airstrike near the Baghdad airport, and Iran responded a few days later by attacking two military bases in Iraq that included American soldiers.
(Anatolia)
