TEHRAN – Iran’s defense minister on Monday issued a statement on the third anniversary of the assassination of top General Qassem Soleimani by the U.S., reaffirming the armed forces’ commitment to take revenge for the terror attack.
Muhammad Reza Ashtiani said Iranian armed forces will never give up on avenging the assassination, pledging that the terrorists behind the crime will surely pay for their crime.
Ashtiani said the perpetrators will be targeted in a time and place they would not imagine and the Islamic Republic will decide when this will happen.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in a separate statement, called the pledge to revenge for the assassination of the top anti-terror icon as definite and inviolable.
The IRGC hailed the efforts of the lieutenant general in securing Iran’s “strategic depth”, stretched to the borders of Occupied Palestine.
The force said it closely monitors developments in the region and threats to the resistance front and will make sure American troops leave the West Asia region by promoting the ideas of the late general.
Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday the assassination of the country’s top anti-terror commander is a “glaring example of organized terrorist act.”
“Indubitable as it is, the criminal act of assassinating General Soleimani, designed and executed by the United States, constitutes yet another glaring example of an ‘organized terrorist act’,” the statement said.
It said based on legal and international regulations, “the American regime bears ‘definite international responsibility’ for this crime, noting that all the agents, instigators, perpetrators, aiders and abettors of this terrorist crime bear responsibility.
“In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in conjunction with the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran and other agencies, has adopted, from the very outset, a number of measures premised upon the legal principle of ‘combating impunity of crimes’ in order to hold the above-mentioned to account and bring them to justice,” it added.
The ministry noted that the Joint Judicial Committee between Iran and Iraq also continues its work to follow up on the U.S. act of terrorism.
Elsewhere in the statement, the ministry said that in cooperation with other relevant institutions, it has “set up the special committee on legal and international follow-up of the assassination case of General Soleimani and his companions.”
“Ever since its establishment, the committee has been investigating and pursuing the legal aspects of the case and has thus far taken several measures to press the issue at all domestic, bilateral, regional and international levels. The Committee is determined to proceed in all seriousness until its objectives are fully met and the international responsibility of the American government is invoked,” it noted.
“In line with its principled policies to counter terrorism and extremism, the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to work towards the establishment of peace and stability at the regional and international levels. And although the martyrdom of General Qassem Soleimani is too great a loss for Iran and Iranians, it will by no means prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from pursuing its lofty goals,” the statement said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Iran will spare no efforts to hold to account all culprits behind the U.S. assassination of General Soleimani.
Speaking at a press conference, he praised the role of General Soleimani as a distinguished figure in the fight against terrorism and consolidation of the resistance front.
“This glorious martyr devoted his life to faithfully serving the Iranian nation, Islam, and regional and international peace and security. He played a prominent role within the framework of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s strategic policies to secure regional and global peace and stability. He took effective measures against international terrorism and terrorist groups in the region,” he said.
He explained that the U.S. government, under former president Donald Trump, violated international regulations and legal principles and plotted and carried out the assassination of General Soleimani.
“This criminal act came as he was a top-ranking Iranian official and was on an official visit to Iraq. The criminal act of the United States in assassinating General Soleimani is a clear act of terrorism that was planned and implemented in an organized manner,” Kanaani said.
“Under international legal conventions, the U.S. bears full responsibility for the crime, while all architects, organizers and culprits are accountable for the terrorist crime. The Foreign Ministry,