TEHRAN - Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, says the assassination of senior commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani, has strengthened the resistance front’s resolve to destroy the Zionist regime.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the tomb of General Soleimani in the southeastern city of Kerman on Monday, the military chief said the blood of the revered martyr has given fresh impetus to the plans to pursue the aspirations of the Islamic Revolution and Imam Khomeini more vigorously, according to Tasnim News Agency. 

Noting that the path of war against the U.S. and Israeli regimes is being followed more enthusiastically, he underlined, “The resistance front is pressing on with the goal of destruction of the Zionist regime.” 

After the martyrdom of Lt. General Soleimani a “remarkable progress” has been made in “the capabilities of the resistance front and the Iranian Armed Force” over the past year, he added. 

“The Zionist regime is in confusion and on the path to downfall,” he pointed out. 

Lt. General Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. airstrike ordered by former President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport last year, was hailed as a hero in Iran and regional countries. The brave commander was a charismatic figure and beloved by all Iranians. 

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, once called General Soleimani a "living martyr of the revolution." 

During the war against ISIS, General Soleimani was often reported to be on the battlefields in Iraq, slipping in and out of the country to help Iraqi forces battle extremist terrorists.