Expulsion from region, best revenge for US acts of crime: Iran VP

Iran’s First Vice President Is’haq Jahangiri says the best revenge for the United States’ criminal act in assassinating top Iranian general, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, is the expulsion of all American forces from the West Asia region.

Jahangiri made the remarks in a Monday meeting with the visiting Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis in Tehran, adding, “Unwarranted interference of Western countries, the US in particular, is the cause of insecurity and instability in the region.”

The Iranian VP added, “The United States has committed grave crimes across the region, especially in Iraq and Syria, through formation of such terrorist groups as Daesh.”

A US drone carried out an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport early on January 3, assassinating Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), as well as eight other people.

Both commanders were admired by Muslim nations for their great acts to eliminate the US-sponsored Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.

Jahangiri hailed the huge turnout of the Iranian nation in Soleimani’s funeral processions as an “unprecedented event in history” and said Iranians now hate the US moves more than ever before.

He emphasized that the Islamic Republic will continue to stand by the Syrian government and nation and go on with its support for the Arab state, saying, “Iran supports Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in order to establish stability and tranquility” in that country.

The Iranian first vice president expressed Tehran’s interest in developing economic relations with Syria and stressed the importance of implementing agreements signed between the two countries during his visit to Damascus.

He said Iran’s private sector is eager to play an active role in the reconstruction of Syria, expressing hope that positive steps would be taken this year in this regard.

During Jahangiri’s trip to Damascus in January 2019, Iran and Syria signed 11 agreements, including a “long-term strategic economic cooperation” deal, in a sign of changing winds in the Middle East which is shaping up to new realities.

The Syrian prime minister said at that time that his country and Iran signed a “unique” and “historic” agreement which includes industry, trade and agriculture, calling it “a message to the world on the reality of Syrian-Iranian cooperation.”

Soleimani’s assassination sign of US plot to stoke war in region: Khamis

The Syrian prime minister, for his part, said the assassination of top Iranian general showed that the US is hatching plots to impose war on regional countries, adding that the bitter event was the outcome of US acts of aggression in the region.

Khamis added, “Syria emphasizes the Islamic Republic’s right to defend itself against enemies’ acts of aggression and we declare our solidarity with our brethren in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

He noted that regional nations would always remember Lt. Gen. Soleimani’s great efforts in his fight against terrorism, saying that Syria believes that the US is the main protagonist in the assassination of the top Iranian general and subsequent developments.

Khamis said the US is incessantly planning to attack regional countries, noting, “We must maintain an adequate degree of readiness and boost our coordination and collaboration, because expansion of bilateral cooperation can play a deterrent role against the US plots.”

Syria is trying to resist the enemies’ plots through defensive, economic, military and diplomatic plans, the premier said, adding that his country will achieve final victory only through support of Iran and friendly countries in the region.

Khamis also said the assassinated Iranian general was posthumously awarded Syria’s highest medal of honor by the Arab country’s President Bashar al-Assad, which shows his high respect for Soleimani.