TEHRAN- On January 3, 2020, revered Iranian Quds Force freedom-fighting commander General Qassem Soleimani was martyred by Pentagon assassins on orders by the Trump regime’s hardliners — an act of cold-blooded murder of a beloved figure throughout much of the region. Deputy Head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Hashed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and others were martyred along with him.

A PMU statement at the time said the following: “The American and Israeli enemy (were) responsible for their (deaths by) a cowardly U.S. bombing.” A U.S. war department disinformation statement said: “At (Trump’s) direction…the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action (sic) to protect U.S. personnel abroad (sic) by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (sic),” adding: “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans (sic)…The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world (sic).”

All of the above reflects typical U.S. mass deception — manufacturing nonexistent threats to unjustifiably justify its high crimes.

Trump provided no evidence of a Soleimani threat because none exists. Claiming he acted in self-defense was a bald-faced Big Lie. No “imminent” threat from Iran existed earlier or now. Denouncing what happened, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called Soleimani “an international figure of the resistance, and all the devotees of resistance are now his avengers,” adding, “All the friends and foes must know that the path of jihad of the resistance will continue with double motivation, and a definite victory awaits those who fight in this auspicious path…The demise of our selfless and dear general is bitter, but the continued fight and achievement of the final victory will make life bitterer for the murderers and criminals.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his assassination “doubled the determination of the great nation of Iran and other free nations to stand against and resist the excessive demands of the U.S. and to defend the Islamic values.” Rouhani added, “There is no doubt that this cowardly and evil move is another sign of U.S. desperation, inability and failure in the region, and the hatred felt by the regional nations toward this criminal regime…The great nation of Iran and other free nations of the region will take revenge for this heinous crime against the criminal U.S.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif denounced U.S. “rogue adventurism.” The Trump regime “bears responsibility for all consequences of its” actions, he stressed. Separately he tweeted: “The U.S. act of international terrorism, targeting & assassinating General Soleimani—THE most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al—is extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation.”

Trump defied reality with the following Big Lies, deceptively claiming the following: “General Soleimani killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more (sic),” adding, “He was, directly and indirectly, responsible for the death of millions of people (sic)” — an astonishing Big Lie even by his dissembling standards. He further turned truth on its head, calling Soleimani “the number-one terrorist anywhere in the world (sic).”

As U.S. commander-in-chief, the dubious distinction applies to him. His regime and congressional accomplices share blame for endless preemptive wars on nonthreatening nations — a flagrant UN Charter violation.

Separately he falsely added that “Soleimani was actively planning new attacks, and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad (sic),” adding he was planning “to blow up our (Baghdad) embassy (sic)...But we stopped him, and we stopped him quickly, and we stopped him cold” — despite no threat he posed to the U.S., just ISIS and likeminded terrorists the U.S. created and supports.

Trump provided no evidence of a Soleimani threat because none exists. Claiming he acted in self-defense was a bald-faced Big Lie. No “imminent” threat from Iran existed earlier or now.

In response to Trump’s remarks about Soleimani, Dem Senator Chris Murphy tweeted: “Let’s be clear. If there was evidence of imminent attacks on four embassies, the (Trump regime) would have said so. “They didn’t (because) there was no such imminent threat.” Other Dems made similar comments.

Fact: Soleimani was in Baghdad on a diplomatic peace mission. Not a shred of evidence suggests he was planning attacks on the U.S. or any other countries.

Fact: As IRGC Quds Force commander, he was at the forefront of combatting and defeating the scourge of U.S.-supported ISIS and like-minded terrorists.

Fact: He was and remains widely respected and revered in Iran, other regional countries, and elsewhere.

He was a renowned freedom fighter for regional peace and stability Fact: He was a renowned freedom fighter for regional peace and stability — his mission polar opposite endless U.S. wars of aggression against non-threatening states.

Fact: Elevated to martyrdom by the Trump regime’s murder, he’s larger than life in death than when alive.

Throughout the Islamic Republic history, it never attacked another country — what the U.S., NATO, and Israel do repeatedly. The Islamic Republic seeks regional peace and cooperative relations with other nations, threatening none.

Former CIA officer John Maguire called him “the single most powerful operative in the Middle East” — on the side of the angels against the scourge of imperial wars, he omitted.

Following Iran’s 1979 revolution, ending a generation of U.S.-installed tyranny, he joined the newly founded Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC). As a battlefield commander during U.S.-sponsored Iraqi aggression on Iran in the 1980s, he led the 41st Sarallah Division. In 1997, he was appointed to lead Iran’s elite Quds Force; an Iranian intelligence analyst, explaining that it was largely unknown until Bush/Cheney’s 2003 aggression against Iraq.

Dangers to Iran posed by what happened “compelled (Tehran) to intervene for strategic reasons,” he said, giving Soleimani a chance “to exhibit his asymmetric war leadership capabilities.” In 2019, he became the first Islamic Republic military commander to be awarded the “Order of Zolfaghar,” named after Imam Ali, one of Shia Islam’s most revered figures.

Millions of Iranians, countless others in regional countries and elsewhere mourn Soleimani’s loss, enraged over U.S. state-sponsored murder — a CIA/Pentagon specialty. He rose to prominence from humble roots, becoming one of Iran’s most revered figures. January 3 marks the first anniversary of his martyrdom. His redoubtable soul and spirit remain eternal.

Soleimani was in Baghdad on a diplomatic peace mission.

*Stephen Lendman is an author, political analyst and radio host. He was awarded the Mexican Press Club's International Investigatory Journalism Award in 2011 in an awards ceremony televised throughout Latin America. His books include “How Wall Street Fleeces America” and “Banker Occupation”.