New IRGC Quds Force Commander Lauds Iran’s “First” Retaliatory Response to US Terrorist Act

In a message sent to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, General Qa’ani congratulated and condoled the martyrdom of General Soleimani and his companions in Iraq, saying that magnificent funeral processions and commemoration ceremonies held across the country and other countries was a widespread vote given for Resistance against the global arrogance.

“I express my heartfelt condolences on the martyrdom of brave and courageous commander of the Resistance Front Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Second-in-Command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and his companions to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. By the grace of the Almighty God, the IRGC gave its first harsh response to the United States as perpetrator of this heinous act with full power and authority. This crushing response will be a complement to the very important decision of the Iraqi Parliament and firm determination of regional countries in the expulsion of US terrorist forces and the global arrogance from the region,” General Qa’ani said. 

“I seize this opportunity to express my special thanks to you (Leader) in assigning the commandership of IRGC Quds Force to me and will try to continue path of resistance front firmly under the auspicious of your wise leadership,” he added.

“Organizing widespread commemoration ceremonies by different countries for the martyrdom of Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani was a vast vote for the Resistance Front against the global arrogance,” General Qa’ani said.

On Wednesday, the IRGC Aerospace Force launched heavy ballistic missile attacks on US Ein Al-Assad airbase in Southwestern Iraq near the border with Syria and a US operated airbase in Erbil in retaliation for the assassination of General Soleimani.

Ein Al-Assad is an airbase with a 4km runway at 188m altitude from sea levels, which is the main and the largest US airbase in Iraq. Early reports said the radar systems and missile defense shields in Ein Al-Assad had failed to operate and intercept the Iranian missiles. Unofficial reports said the US army’s central radar systems at Ein Al-Assad had been jammed by electronic warfare.

Some 80 US army personnel were killed and nearly 200 more wounded in Iran’s Wednesday missile attacks, informed sources said.

The second IRGC reprisal attack targeted a US military base near Erbil airport in Iraqi Kurdistan Region in the second leg of “Martyr Soleimani” reprisal operation.

All flights were cancelled at Erbil airport.

Iraq said the attacks had not taken any toll from its army men stationed at these two bases. The US army had blocked entrance into Ein Al-Assad to everyone, including the Iraqi army.

It was the first direct attack on the US army ever since WWII.

IRGC officials said none of the missiles had been intercepted.

Following the attack, the IRGC issued a statement immediately after the attacks, declaring that it had fired tens of ground-to-ground missiles at “the airbase occupied by the terrorist and aggressive army of the United States known as Ein Al-Assad” in reprisal for the martyrdom of IRGC Qods Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

The IRGC warned the US to avoid retaliating the Wednesday attack or else “it will face a more painful and crushing response”.

The IRGC Statement also warned “all the US allied states where the terrorist army has a base, any territory that becomes the origin of any hostile and aggressive action against the Islamic Republic of Iran in any way will be targeted”.

“We believe that the Zionist regime by no means stands aside from the criminal US regime in these crimes.”

The IRGC also called on the American nation to pressure the White House to pull their troops out of the region to avoid further damage and not allow the US rulers to endager the lives of their military men through increasing hatred.

All Iranian underground missile towns were on alert.

The missile attack came hours before the body of General Soleimani was laid to rest.

Lieutenant General Soleimani was martyred in a targeted assassination attack by the US drones at Baghdad International Airport early on Friday morning.

The airstrike also martyred Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), or Hashad al-Shaabi. The two were martyred in an American airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport.

Five Iranian and five Iraqi militaries were martyred by missiles fired by the US drone at Baghdad International Airport.

The attack came amid tensions that started by the US attack on PMF units that killed 28 Iraqi popular forces. A day later, Iraqi people attacked the US embassy in Baghdad.

The targeted assassination attack represents a dramatic escalation by the US toward Iran after months of tensions. The tensions take root in Trump’s decision in May 2018 to withdraw the US from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, struck under his predecessor.