TEHRAN — Speaking at a commemoration gathering held in Tehran’s Mosalla on Monday, Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi said that the assassinators of the anti-terrorism commanders, martyrs General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, must be tried.

Raisi lamented the United States for violating Iraq’s sovereignty, saying, “The United States violated Iraq's sovereignty by assassinating its Prime Minister's official guest.”

He then added that former U.S. President Donald Trump and his secretary of state Mike Pompeo must be tried for the crime of assassinating General Soleimani.

“If Trump and Pompeo did not face justice, Muslims will avenge General Soleimani,” he emphasized. 

Elsewhere in his remarks, President Raisi said that General Soleimani represented a school of thought and will not be eliminated by the assassination.

The president also the Iranian general feared nothing but the Lofty Lord.

Referring to his strong determination, Raisi said that “General Soleimani truly believed that ‘we can’ and he accepted no excuses for inaction.”

Referring to the general’s popularity among the people of the region and possibly the world, the president said that God has granted Soleimani with the gift of ability to conquer hearts.

“Soleimani was bestowed with a lofty heart,” he added.

Raisi also referred to General Soleimani’s different approaches in dealing with the oppressed and the enemies, saying that he was a tough man in facing enemies but very kind-hearted when dealing with the oppressed people.

“Soleimani was a revolutionary commander who acted beyond political factions,” the president said, referring to his nonpartisanship.

Pointing to General Soleimani’s efforts to create peace in the region, Raisi said that General Soleimani commanded operations to purge the region from terrorists and expel the enemies.

“General Soleimani detected capacities for Resistance across our region,” he added. 

Pointing to his bravery, the president said that General Soleimani never feared dangers and perils.

He then said that Americans imagined that January 3, 2020 would be the end of General Soleimani but “it became his birthday.”

As Leader of the Islamic Revolution has said “martyr Soleimani” will be more dangerous for enemies than “General Soleimani”, Raisi remarked.

As popular figures, martyrs Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were impressively commemorated in the past days. There have been countless commemoration ceremonies to remember the anti-terrorism heroes. 

On Sunday, tens of thousands of Iraqis gathered in Baghdad International Airport – the site where General Soleimani and al-Muhandis were assassinated on 3 January, 2020 – to commemorate the second anniversary of their assassination.

Prominent figures, such as Faleh al-Fayyad, leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), as well as the families of martyrs Soleimani and al-Muhandis attended the ceremony.

Fayyad spoke at the gathering, saying that the Iraqis will remember the “leaders of victory, and we raise our generations on the noble values they carried, and the leaders of victory were ready for martyrdom every minute and every moment.”

Referring to a massive gathering on Saturday in Baghdad, Fayyad said that the people who came out on Saturday declared loyalty to those who sacrificed their life and their blood.

Local sources reported that over 2 million people attended the gathering on Saturday.

The PMF leader said that the Iraqi people hold the United States accountable for the “heinous crime” of assassinating the top Iranian and Iraqi commanders.

“What happened after [the assassination of Soleimani and al-Muhandis] created a new situation, and Iraq will no longer accept the presence of U.S. forces,” Fayyad said.
Manar al-Muhandis and Zeinab Soleimani, the daughters of al-Muhandis and Soleimani also spoke at the airport gathering.

Manar al-Muhandis said that Iraqis will not remain silent about “the Americans and their cowardice,” and that “we will avenge every drop of blood shed in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.”

For her part, Zeinab Soleimani spoke of her father’s deep fondness for Iraq, saying that martyr Soleimani knew that a resilient Iraq would become a “thorn in the eyes of the enemy.”

Zeinab Soleimani also spoke of an awaiting “harsh revenge” against those murderers “whose hands were stained with blood.” 

She also said that Iranians and Iraqis will never forget the assassinations and the blood spilled at the Baghdad airport.

On Saturday afternoon, scores of Iraqis gathered in Baghdad to commemorate General Soleimani and al-Muhandis.

Hadi Al-Ameri, head of the Fatah Alliance; al-Fayyad, head of the PMF also known as Hashd al-Shaabi; and Qais Khazali, head of the Asaeb Ahl-Al-Haq; and Sayyid Ammar

Hakim, leader of the National Hikma Movement, participated in the gathering along with other prominent leaders of the Shia factions.