TEHRAN - Iranian First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said on Monday that the real revenge for assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani will be expulsion of the United States troops from the region.

“The real revenge for the United States’ criminal and illegal actions, at the top of which is the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, will be their expulsion from the region,” he said during a meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis in Tehran.

Jahangiri said that interferences by certain Western countries, especially the U.S., have caused instability and insecurity in the West Asia region.

He also said that the assassination of Soleimani has increased the people’s hatred towards the U.S.

The Syrian prime minister was welcomed by Jahangiri, the first vice-president, in Sa’ad Abad complex on Monday morning. 

Khamis was accompanied by a high-ranking delegation including Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and Ali Ayoub, the country’s defense minister. 

The visit by the Syrian delegation was primarily aimed to discuss bilateral ties and the latest regional and international developments as well as offering condolences to senior Iranian officials over the martyrdom of General Soleimani.

General Soleimani was a legendary commander in leading the resistance movement against terrorist groups, especially Daesh, in both Syria and Iraq. 

However, in a highly dangerous move, the United States assassinated this anti-terror general in Baghdad on January 3. Iran retaliated to the hostile act by firing ballistic missiles at a U.S. airbase in western Iraq.

‘Soleimani was symbol of fight for liberation’

For his part, the Syrian prime minister called Soleimani a “symbol of the fight for liberation and regional security”.

“Syria stresses Iran’s right to defend itself and counter enemies’ aggression,” Khamis said in reference to Iran’s retaliation to the U.S. highly dangerous act.

He added, “We express sympathy with our brothers in the Islamic Republic of Iran.” 

The prime minister also called for closer cooperation to counter the U.S. plots.

Shamkhani: Iran gave ‘crushing’ response to U.S. criminal act 

Khamis also held talks on Monday with the secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani, voicing Damascus’s enthusiasm to broaden all-out ties with Iran.

During the meeting, Shamkhani said Iran gave a “crushing response to the U.S. criminal act” by showering missiles on the U.S. military base in Iraq and thereby proved that the Islamic Republic “never compromises on its security and national interests”.
 
The top security official also said so long as the U.S. stays in the West Asia region there will be no durable security, adding the “evil exit” of Americans will be realized through cooperation and solidary between regional countries.

‘Soleimani assassination has empowered resistance front’

In a separate meeting with the Syrian prime minister, Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said that Soleimani’s assassination has empowered the resistance front.

He also said that Soleimani’s martyrdom boosted unity among the Iranians.

Defense minister: Trump increases U.S. costs in the region

In a meeting with his Syrian counterpart accompanying the prime minister, Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami also said Donald Trump has increased the “cost” of the U.S. presence in the region by the strategic mistake of ordering the Soleimani assassination.

Reconstruction of Syria

In the talks between Iranian and Syrian officials, the sides also called for efforts to expand bilateral relations.

“Iranian private companies are highly interested in having an active participation in reconstructing Syria. Now that coordination has been made and agreements to reconstruct Syria have been concluded, I hope we would witness positive results in 2020,” Vice President Jahangiri stated.

NA/MJ/PA