The media outlets of the hegemonic system have made certain efforts to ignore Major General Qassem Soleimani’s attempt in confronting terrorism, naming him only an Iranian commander and downplaying his international and special role in the fight against terrorism.

In a desperate attempt, the media outlets are trying to portray the martyrdom of General Soleimani as an irreparable loss for Iran, while the history of resistance has shown that with the martyrdom of each commander, the next ones have led the resistance movement stronger, more enthusiastically and determinedly.  

They are trying to imply that the U.S. terrorist act was a precautionary move against terrorism, while all the oppressed people around the world see Soleimani as a great commander who fought against terrorism, which based on lots of evidence was created by the U.S. in the region. 

The wave of numerous regional and international reactions to the martyrdom of General Soleimani, coupled with hatred and condemnation of the assassination, reveal global anger at the terrorist nature of the United States. The global anger drives from Iran’s genuine work in establishing security in face of the U.S. behavior in creating insecurity in the world. 

Another point is that the statements by Iraqi officials condemning the assassination reveal that the claims over the coordination between the Iraqi government and the U.S. in committing this horrific crime are fake. In the past few hours, U.S.-affiliated media outlets, in a coordinated and preplanned move, have been seeking to create a dispute between the Iranian and Iraqi nations. They intend to introduce Baghdad as a partner in the crime, while the remarks by the Iraqi officials proved the opposite of this claim and foiled the enemy’s plot. 
The undeniable crime by the U.S. in fact amounted to “state terrorism”. The Americans have proven that they are the leading element of state terrorism at regional and international levels. In the meanwhile, the deafening silence of international organizations, including the UN, in the face of U.S. state terrorism is completely unacceptable.

The regional countries have adopted the same approach as international organizations toward American terrorism and policies, choosing to remain silent. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that have not even said a word regarding the assassination, while some other parties, such as the Zionist regime, have clearly and publicly declared their support for the U.S. state terrorism.

The main goal behind this terrible crime is to undermine the resistance movement not only in Iraq and Iran but throughout the region. However, the path of the martyred general and other martyrs of the resistance movement including the PMU will continue. This is what the Leader of the Islamic Revolution insisted in his condolence message on Soleimani’s martyrdom.

Commander Soleimani is in fact a thought that will continue to exist. The thought of the martyred commander and the resistance movement will not fade away. General Soleimani himself followed the path of the great commanders during the Sacred Defense (defense against Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran in the 1980s). 

The cycle is still at work, and other sincere commanders are continuing Soleimani’s path. 

History has shown that the assassination of great figures by state terrorism of the U.S. and Zionist regime will not disrupt Iran’s advance in various fields. For example, it can be obviously seen that with the martyrdom of Major General Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, the country’s missile industry progressed and with the martyrdom of nuclear scientists like Majid Shahriari and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, the Iranian nuclear technology continued to develop. On this basis, the process of combating terrorism by the Islamic Republic will be strengthened following Soleimani’s martyrdom. 

In addition, it should be noted that the U.S. terrorism has targeted not only the Islamic Republic of Iran but the resistance movement in general. Martyring Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, the second-in-command of the PMU, and several other members of his resistance group confirm the claim. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also emphasized, “The criminals who have the blood of General Soleimani and other martyrs of the attack on their hands must await hard revenge”.

* Author: Mohammad Ghaderi , Tehran Times editor in chief 

His page on Twitter : @ghaderi62 - and Gmail address : m.ghaderi62@gmail.com