TEHRAN – Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Tuesday that the United States’ assassination of Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani was “treacherous” act.

“The United States took a treacherous action by assassinating General Qassem Soleimani, because he fought terrorism,” he said in a press conference.

He praised the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps and other branches of the Iranian military for stabilizing the region.

Pointing to Iran’s missile attack on a major U.S. military base in Iraq in retaliation on January 8, Arreaza said Iran has to defend itself and its sovereignty, adding that Iran’s action prevented a “more serious tension” in the region.

If Iran had not taken a retaliatory measure the U.S. would have taken more actions against Iran, he predicted.

General Soleimani was assassinated in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad on January 3.

In a retaliatory move, Iran fired dozens of ballistic missiles at a major U.S. military base in Iraq on January 8.

Top Iranian political and military figures had vowed “harsh revenge” for the martyrdom of General Soleimani.

Ayatollah Khamenei said on January 8 that such military actions are not enough and the U.S. forces must leave the region.

“The issue of revenge is another issue… The United States’ corruptive presence in the region must come to an end. They have brought war, sedition, destruction, and also the destruction of infrastructures to the region,” he stated.

In his newest remarks on Friday, Ayatollah Khamenei said the knocking down of the U.S. airbase in Iraq should be considered a “Day of Allah (God)”.

He explained that Days of Allah are when societies, humans, and ethnicities rid themselves of the oppressors.

The Leader also described the assassination of Soleimani as a cowardly act that brought disgrace upon the U.S.

NA/PA