Tehran 23 January_Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi says the US is wrong to think it can dent Iran’s influence through terrorist acts, including the recent assassination of Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club(YJC)-“Our influence has not been dependent on an individual and it will prove that this influence will further be strengthened with the blessings of his (General Soleimani’s) blood, and regional nations will embrace Iran’s influence and that of the resistance [front],” he said in an interview, Fars news agency reported on Wednesday.
“Those who masterminded this heinous, cowardly act thought they could undermine our regional clout and presence through the assassination of General [Soleimani], but given the current circumstances in the region they will see that this will not come true and the powerful presence of our people and establishment… will continue,” he added.
Mousavi said the US assassination of General Soleimani was a “blatant violation” of international peace and security, noting that based on UN resolution 3314, if a guest country that has a military base under an agreement with the host state commits an act of aggression against the interests of the host country, it is considered an aggressor.
He said that the administration of US President Donald Trump were of the opinion that they could take advantage of General Soleimani’s assassination to sway the public opinion but the scheme backfired and turned America’s public opinion and world nations against the US.
Through the assassination of the senior Iranian commander they were also after overshadowing Trump’s impeachment, Mousavi said.
On January 3, the United States assassinated General Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), among others in a set of airstrikes against the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Trump's order. Soleimani has earned reputation as West Asia’s most revered anti-terror commander due to his indispensable contribution to defeating terrorist outfits such as Daesh across the region.
The strikes also led to the martyrdom of second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis along with eight other Iranians and Iraqis.