Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike shortly after landing in Baghdad on January 3, 2020.
Tehran, Iran – Top Iranian officials and commanders have renewed a vow to avenge the assassination of Iraq’s top general Qassem Soleimani three years ago.
Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and a key architect of Iran’s regional influence, was struck by what the United States claimed was a drone strike shortly after landing in Baghdad on January 3, 2020.
During events marking the third anniversary of his death on Tuesday and in the days leading up to it, a number of senior Islamic Republic figures vowed they would continue to fully honor their promise of “tough revenge” for the slain general.
“We have not and will not forget the blood of the martyr Soleimani. Americans need to know that revenge for the blood of martyr Soleimani is certain and the murderers and perpetrators will not sleep lightly,” President Ebrahim Raisi told thousands of listeners in Tehran on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Grand Mosalla, where for days public demonstrations have been encouraged by banners across the city, the president said Soleimani was an “anti-terrorist and global arrogant advocate” who “continued to take US hegemony in the region into the drawn defeat”.
In addition to senior Iranian authorities, a number of officials and commanders – including those from Iraq and Lebanon – who make up the Tehran-backed “axis of resistance” across the region were also present at Tuesday’s event.
Iran’s foreign ministry and judiciary also pledged to continue their efforts to avenge Soleimani and hold accountable perpetrators from other countries, such as Israel, the United Kingdom and Germany, who Iran believes aided in the assassination.
A new set of sanctions imposed by the Foreign Office in mid-December targeted current and former British and German officials and commanders, as well as several entities, including Britain’s Royal Air Force Base at Menwith Hill, North Yorkshire, allegedly involved in the assassination was involved.
Judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi told reporters Tuesday that the judiciary has identified 154 suspects in the case of Soleimani’s assassination, 96 of whom are US citizens.
In order to continue the prosecution of suspects, the judiciary sent letters to nine countries.
Setayeshi added that indictments were sent to the addresses of the 96 Americans, while Iran has requested “red notices” from Interpol for dozens, including former US President Donald Trump.
Trump ordered the killing of Soleimani and said he was planning an “imminent” attack on US service members in the Iraqi capital.
Iranian state television broadcast live footage from Tehran and Soleimani’s hometown of Kerman on Tuesday, showing thousands marching while holding banners with his picture and chanting slogans.
Banners with Soleimani and his handwriting have been put up in Tehran and cities across the country over the past week. “Martyrdom is the medicine for my pain” was one of the messages.
Iran has been gripped by months of protests that began in mid-September following the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest by morality police for allegedly flouting a mandatory hijab rule for women.
In his speech on Tuesday, Raisi again accused the US and other foreign powers of being behind the unrest.
“They created a variety of wars, including cyber, psychological, military and economic wars,” he said. “But you were defeated in all these wars and you will be defeated from now on.”