Politics

Missile exhibition in Iran to mark Soleimani’s death anniversary

Tehran, Jan 7 (EFE).- The Iranian government launched a missile exhibit on Friday to pay tribute to former Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated two years ago by United States forces in Iraq.

Iranian officials have described the exhibition of three ballistic rockets as a display that proves the military capacity of the Islamic Republic.

The Qiyam, Dezful and Zolfaghar Basir missiles are on display for public viewing in the parking lot of the Mosalla Mosque in Tehran.

The Qiyam model, with a range of 800 kilometers, was used to attack the Ayn al Asad US military base in Iraq in January 2020 in retaliation for Soleimani’s assassination.

The Zolfaghar Basir missile, with a range of 700 kilometers and an optical warhead, and Dezful, a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 1,000 kilometers, complete the exhibition.

Soleimani, a former general in charge of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, was killed in a bombing by a US drone on January 3, 2020, near Baghdad airport during Donald Trump’s tenure as president of the US.

His death flared tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Iran has held a series of commemorative events this week to mark the anniversary of Soleimani’s death, who has been described by the regime as a “hero, martyr, social activist, climate change activist and diplomat,” among other things.

Large cities, including Tehran, have been plastered with posters depicting images of the former commander praying, helping children and posing in bucolic fields of flowers.

Prayers have also been held in different corners of the capital, a poetry competition and talks by the general’s daughters are just a few of the events on the commemorative program of events.

For the main act of remembrance, president Ebrahim Raisi, on Monday called for Trump to be subjected to Qisas (an Islamic term meaning retaliation) for the murder of Soleimani.

“The rapist, murderer and criminal, the former president of the United States must be tried, must be subjected to the law of qisas” Raisi said at the Mosala mosque in Tehran, where hundreds of people flocked to honor Soleimani.

Raisi warned that if Trump and former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo were not tried, the ummah (the Muslim community) would take justice into its own hands.

“The ummah will avenge Soleimani if Trump and Pompeo do not face justice,” the president added.

The anniversary comes amid negotiations in Vienna to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran and Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and the US are trying to reinstate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement which would see Iran agreeing to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions. EFE

ar-jlr/ch

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