Pres. Rouhani: US’ martyring Lieut. Gen. Soleimani int’l terrorism, crime

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Iran's President described the Americans’ martyring of the brave general of Islam Martyr Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani and his companions in Iraq against all international regulations and norms and an international terrorism and crime, saying, "The Americans failed to achieve their goals by this criminal act”.

Speaking at the session of the cabinet on Wednesday, President Hassan Rouhani said that we are witnessing very important developments in Iran, region and the world since last week, adding, "With their criminal act in Baghdad, America martyred a major, great Iranian commander, who was the guest of the Iraqi government and people, against all international regulations”.

There is no doubt that the US had goals by this act, he said, adding, "They were after sowing discord inside Iran, creating fear and division in the region and distance between the Iraqi government and people and the Iranian government and people, as well as affecting regional dynamics and efforts that were directed towards full liberation of the region from terrorists, which they failed to do so”.

“Of course, it is possible that this action was because of the internal issues and complications in the US and the White House, which will yield opposite results with the awareness of the American people and the public opinions of the world,” he said.

The President also praised the greatness of the Iranian people, saying, “People’s presence at the funeral of Martyr Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani was not normal, but a miracle”.

He added, "I cannot recall anything like this in the history,” referring to the fact that people around the world, including Yemen, Syria and Kashmir took to the streets to commemorate these martyrs.

The President continued, "In fact, this unprecedented presence was the manifestation of people’s respect for these martyrs’ moral values and lofty causes”.

“Martyr Soleimani was not just a military commander, but also a capable politician and strategist in negotiating different groups and even high-ranking authorities in the region and outside,” he said.

Dr Rouhani also said that the Americans made a grave historic mistake by this criminal act, saying, "If Gen. Soleimani wished, he could terminate hundreds of American commanders in different parts of the region, but he was one of the most moderate military commanders in the region and the world”.

He said, "Gen. Soleimani used to act very carefully and never went to any extreme,” adding that he had been making efforts in the path of jihad in the past 40 years with increasing spirit.

“General Soleimani’s goal was protecting security of Iran, stability of the region, the freedom of Quds and protecting the security of the region by regional states,” he said.

The President continued, "The Americans thought that they burned Gen. Soleimani’s body with missile, but they burned the hearts of millions of free people in the world and it is natural that America cannot distance itself from this catastrophe and it will definitely get a response for this crime”.

Referring to decisive responses that the US has received until today, the President said, "The first response was the big presence of the people of Iraq in Baghdad, Karbala, Najaf, Basra and other cities of this country”.

“This proved that the people of Iran and Iraq are on the same route and jihadist commanders of these two nations are on the same path,” said Rouhani.

He also described the Iraqi parliament’s ruling of expelling American troops from the country as another response to the US’ criminal act, saying, "The Parliament of Iraq courageously paved the path for the permanent expelling of US from Iraq and the region in the future”.

The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran also went on to say, "America thought that they could create division in Iraq by killing General Soleimani, but on the contrary, Iraq became more united and stood against the US unanimously”.

“If the dear General Soleimani tried months and years to make the region this much united against the US, he would not achieve this goal,” he said.

Dr Rouhani added, "This was a major historical event that made our people more united and integrated than ever”.

The President also added, "The prayer that the Supreme Leader said beside the coffins of martyrs was recorded in history”.

He also said, "By taking the fifth step of reducing nuclear obligations, the government took a great step in peaceful nuclear activities”.

“In the fifth step, we announced to the world that today, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran considers no limitations in research and development, as well as building different kinds of centrifuges and their installation, the percentage and amount of enrichment, which is happening for the first time,” said Rouhani.

He also said, "The Atomic Energy Organisation had prepared itself well in the past couple of years, and we will witness a great development in our nuclear industry with this order”.

Appreciating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for conducting an operation last night against a major US based in the region, he said, "If America commits a crime, it will receive a decisive response from our armed forces no matter how much it makes threats”.

“If America wants to commit another crime from now on, it must know that it will receive a stronger response,” said the President.

Dr Rouhani also said, "I believe that the US must receive its main response from regional peoples; they cut off our dear General Soleimani’s hand, and the response will be to cut America’s leg off the region”.

He also said that Americans must not make a mistake by claiming that Iranian proxy forces have carried out acts against them, and added, "We do not have proxy forces, because today, all peoples are free and there is no proxy force under our command in any country, in a way that the Popular Mobilisation Forces is an official armed force in Iraq under their command”.

“Lebanon’s Hezbollah is a part of the Lebanese government, parliament and ruling system and they have their own programmes and goals,” he said.

President Rouhani added, "The people of Yemen are not under our command and they are fighting for their own country, and they may make incidents like the ARAMCO happen again, but this has nothing to do with the Iranian people, government and armed forces”.

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