TEHRAN -- January 8 marks the anniversary of Iran’s pummeling of two military bases housing American troops in Iraq in response to the U.S. assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched a barrage of missiles at the Ayn al-Asad airbase in Anbar province, with Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei calling it the “first slap”.
Gen. Soleimani was martyred near Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020 in a drone strike authorized by former U.S. President Donald Trump. All missiles fired at Ayn al-Asad base hit their designated targets, sending American forces scurrying for cover.
Trump sought to portray the missile strike as a minor incident. Shortly after the attack, he tweeted “All is well.” Later, in a press conference at the White House, he tried to play down the magnitude of the attack.
Media reports along with satellite images, however, showed the damage done to the base was much greater than what U.S. officials acknowledged. There were also conflicting reports on the number of the wounded.
Despite initially claiming that the strike resulted in no casualties, the Trump administration ultimately announced that 110 U.S. suffered traumatic brain injuries.
After the assassination, Iraqis repeatedly took to the streets and called for an end to the U.S. military presence in their country. Protests were followed by the country’s parliament holding an extraordinary session where lawmakers voted to expel foreign forces.
Eventually, the U.S. announced the end of its combat operation in Iraq back in December 2021 under an agreement with Baghdad, but stated that some 2,500 troops would remain on the ground as military advisors.
Observers and many Iraqi leaders say the relabeling is a cloak to deceive the Iraqi people and extend the stay of American forces in the Arab country.

However, what lingers on is the blow which Iran’s powerful strike dealt to the American prestige and its untouchable aura of invincibility.
In his first speech to the Iranian nation after the assassination, Ayatollah Khamenei touched on Iran’s response, saying that more important than a military strike, it was a serious blow to U.S. prestige as a superpower.
“The U.S. has been receiving blows in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan from the powerful resistance for many years. However, this was more important than all the previous blows. It was a major blow to America’s prestige. It was a blow to a sense of awe around the U.S. This blow cannot be remedied by anything. Now, they have announced that they will intensify sanctions, but they cannot make up for the lost status of the U.S. The powerful response had this effect.”
As we mark the second anniversary of the assassination, the world has completely changed since that day two years ago, but Iran hasn’t forgotten, even with Trump gone.
On Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry updated a blacklist of Americans involved in the terrorist act, with Trump and his secretary of state Mike Pompeo topping it.
According to a poll by the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland, Gen. Soleimani’s popularity climbed from 73 percent in 2016 to 82 percent in 2019—making him the most popular figure in Iran.
In life, he had a massive following with his image etched in the minds as a humble and charismatic military commander who prevented Daesh from overtaking the Middle East. After the assassination, his status has been further elevated to martyr, capturing the imagination of many Iranians, Iraqis, Syrians and millions of others around the world.
Lately, a member of the European Parliament has paid tribute to Gen. Soleimani and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, saying “their heroic struggles against terrorism will never be forgotten” and “their legacy will prevail”.
Last week, Ayatollah Khamenei echoed a view that “Martyr Soleimani is more dangerous to the enemies than General Soleimani”.
For the U.S. and its accomplices, the writing is on the wall: while Iranians haven’t forgotten and the final retribution is a matter of time, the rest of the world is just beginning to digest many aspects of the crime, including - in its wake - America’s free fall in the world public opinion which began with the assassination of Gen. Soleimani and Iran’s powerful missile response to the atrocious crime.