TEHRAN - The spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi has described the United States as the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world, saying Washington is the source of insecurity across the globe.
Speaking in the city of Kerman on Tuesday, Brigadier General Shekarchi said the criminal U.S. regime exposed its true face before the world by its “brazen” assassination of Iran’s top anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani.
“The U.S. is the world’s biggest terrorist-nurturing country and the looter of the property of the people and the oppressed,” Shekarchi said. “No insecurity happens in the world unless the United States is involved.”
On January 3, 2020, the U.S. military conducted an air operation under former president Donald Trump’s order targeting General Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport after his arrival. The attack also killed the general’s companions, including Deputy Commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Both commanders were highly popular because of the key role they played in eliminating the U.S.-sponsored Daesh terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.
Iran called General Soleimani’s assassination “state terrorism” and vowed to put an end to the U.S. military’s presence in the region as the ultimate act of revenge.
In retaliation, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched a volley of ballistic missiles at the Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq’s western province of Anbar and another airbase in Erbil on January 8, 2020, as a result of which 110 U.S. troops were diagnosed with “traumatic brain injuries”.
The IRGC, in announcing the missile strikes, warned the “Great Satan” that repeating such mischievous act would lead to “a more painful and more decisive response.” It also advised the American people to demand the withdrawal of their country’s forces from the region in order to save their lives.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Shekarchi said General Soleimani was kind and compassionate toward the people while being firm, brave, and invincible in the face of the enemy.
He also noted that the martyred commander stood up against the Daesh terrorist group and destroyed the “predatory animal.”
“Who armed and supported this predatory animal?” he said, hinting at the U.S. government. “We should be careful not to confuse the martyr with the executioner.”
He also asserted that the enemy suffered more from the martyrdom of General Soleimani compared to when he was leading the Resistance Front, pointing to the increasing public push to expel American forces from the region.