Iran marks 2nd anniversary of general Soleimaní’s killing
Tehran, Jan 3 (EFE).- Thousands of Iranians on Monday paid tribute to Qasem Soleimani to mark two years since the former Islamic Revolutionary Guard general was killed by a United States airstrike in Baghdad.
The main ceremony was held at Tehran’s Mosalla mosque, where thousands gathered holding banners and portraits of Soleimani while chanting anti-US and anti-Israel chants.
“We owe a lot to Soleimani,” Khadiye Mohamadi, a 45-year-old woman told Efe at the mosque. “It was our duty to come today, we will never forget this crime.”
Iran’s hardline resident Ebrahim Raisi demanded former US president Donald Trump and other senior US officials be tried over the killing of Soleimani outside Baghdad’s international airport.
“The umma (nation) will avenge Soleimani if Trump and (former Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo do not face justice,” Raisi said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that Soleimani remains a threat to his enemies, even after his death.
“‘Martyr’ Soleimani is more dangerous than ‘General’ Soleimani for his enemies,” he said, adding that Trump will pay for “the crime.”
The anniversary comes as Iran and the world’s major powers resume the Vienna talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that limits the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting the sanctions.
Soleimani became the face of Iran’s foreign military influence, masterminding battlefield strategies for Tehran’s allies in theaters of war such as Iraq. EFE
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