IranNorth AmericaQasem SuleimaniVideos

Iran: World Safer Place without Murderer of General Soleimani

Iranian Government Spokesman Ali Rabiyee said that his country is pleased with the outgoing President Donald Trump’s defeat as the number one culprit behind the assassination of former IRGC Quds Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, adding that the world will be a safer place without Trump.

“We are happy that (General) Soleimani’s killer will soon leave the scene of the US politics and we are confident that a world without (General) Soleimani’s killer is a safer place for all nations of the world,” Rabiyee told reporters in a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday.

“As we have stated many times, including during the presentation of the Hormuz Peace Endeavor, security in the Persian Gulf region should be provided by the littoral states of this region. This is the only way to achieve a fair security for all countries and to ensure long-term peace and stability. We do not consider militarization of the Persian Gulf region to the interest of any country in the region and the world, and we hope that the US will finally abandon adventurism outside its borders by abandoning the policy of intervention and fomenting division among the regional states,” he added.

Rabiyee once again dismissed the allegations about Iran’s involvement in the recent attacks against the US embassy in Baghdad, and said, “Respect for independent sovereignty of our neighbors, specially Iraq, and stability of the country is our first priority, and we do not support any action that is against the will of the Iraqi government and people.”

“The Americans deployed in Iraq and their leaders are aware that there are many groups in Iraq that have strong national and ethnic motives to end the occupation as Iraqis demand, and their actions have nothing to do with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added.

Rabiyee underscored Iran’s vigilance against certain ill-wishers’ moves to use tensions between Iran and the US to their benefit, and said that Tehran is ready to defend and protect the security, interests, lives of Iranian citizens and the country’s sovereign territory and has given necessary warnings to the relevant parties.

He added that the US and other regimes and their affiliates which are enemies of regional peace and stability are directly responsible for any sabotage and provocative acts and false flag operations.

In relevant remarks on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh rejected the US officials’ allegations about Iran’s involvement in attacks on diplomatic centers in Iraq, and warned Washington to avoid escalating tensions in the region or wait for consequences.

“I said last week that in our view, attacks on diplomatic and residential premises are completely unacceptable. Iranian diplomatic missions in Iraq have come under attack several times. In this particular case, the finger of blame is on the United States itself and its partners and allies in the region, who seek to escalate new tensions. What Trump and Pompeo have said are both condemned and rejected, and the type, timing, and content of these statements and tweets are suspicious and mischievous. We have made our message clear, while we do not seek tension, we defend the interests and national security of Iran with all our power,” Khatibzadeh told reporters via video conference.

The US Central Command claimed last Wednesday that the rocket attack on Baghdad’s International Zone near the US embassy was “almost certainly conducted by an Iranian-backed rogue militia group”.

Khatibzadeh dismissed the allegations, saying, “Such repeated, baseless, and fabricated allegations and accusations by the White House are intended to overshadow Trump’s current very difficult circumstances.”

“As we have said before, Iran’s response to US terrorism is obvious, courageous and so the US regime would do well to use more plausible scenarios to justify its sedition,” he said.

“The US and those who hatch conspiracy are responsible and should account for the consequences of these tensions,” he added.

“We have made it clear and warned that the US should account for hatching any conspiracies. We have heard about some mischief and sent a message to the US and friends in the region that the US administration should not embark on a new adventure in the last days of its life in the White House. We have not been looking for tension in the region. We have no doubts about defending the country at all. Everyone has tried and witnessed our responses. We hope those who have a clear mind in Washington decrease tensions,” the diplomat said.

Khatibzadeh dismissed some statements that Iran should not turn Iraq into a battlefield for its conflicts with the US, and said, “Iran has never embarked on dispute settlement in another region. The US has turned the countries of our region into bases for fomenting insecurity against Iran. The neighboring states have sovereignty duties to act upon their responsibilities against the White House rebellion.”

“We do not have any doubt about defending ourselves within the framework of a responsible country and international laws,” he underscored.

Lieutenant General Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike on Baghdad International Airport in Iraq on January 3, 2020.

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

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

On January 8 and after the funeral ceremony of General Soleimani, the IRGC Aerospace Force started 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 US 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 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.

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.

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.

The IRGC officials said none of the missiles had been intercepted.

Meantime, Iran announced in late June that it had issued arrest warrants for 36 officials of the US and other countries who have been involved in the assassination of the martyred General Soleimani.

“36 individuals who have been involved or ordered the assassination of Hajj Qassem, including the political and military officials of the US and other governments, have been identified and arrest warrants have been issued for them by the judiciary officials and red alerts have also been issued for them via the Interpol,” Prosecutor-General of Tehran Ali Alqasi Mehr said.

He said that the prosecuted individuals are accused of murder and terrorist action, adding that US President Donald Trump stands at the top of the list and will be prosecuted as soon as he stands down presidency after his term ends.

Back to top button