TEHRAN- Martyr anti-terror icon Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani is still the primary source of inspiration for resistance fighters across West Asia, according to Ali Shoeib, a seasoned journalist who has been covering wars and conflicts in the region over the past years. 

“We feel the presence of Martyr Soleimani every step of the way. Every breath we take, we feel him right next to us. Especially when it comes to Hezbollah, all the group’s accomplishments are achieved in the light of Martyr Soleimani’s efforts and endeavours,” he said, responding to a question from the Tehran Times on how General Soleimani has helped empower the Axis of Resistance. 

General Qassem Soleimani was a prominent military leader who spent multiple decades in different ranks of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) since his early 20s. His last years were spent as the commander of the elite IRGC Quds force. He spearheaded Iran’s fight against Daesh terrorists in Iraq and Syria in the 2010s and became a national hero after he managed to annihilate the terror group with the help of allied groups in the region. 

The military leader was assassinated on January 3, 2020, during a U.S. drone attack on Baghdad’s airport. 

“The remarkable success of Hezbollah in recent months, I believe, is thanks to Martyr Soleimani’s blessings. He has been with us in all stages of our operations. The soul of Martyr Soleimani is not only present in Lebanon, but he is also with resistance forces across the region, in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and elsewhere. He was the first and biggest supporter of the Axis of Resistance. I saw him myself during the Syrian war, sitting on the ground with soldiers and even children and adults,” Shoeib recalled, adding that freedom fighters in West Asia were “orphaned” after the martyrdom of General Soleimani. “He was our spiritual father. He used to tell us to accept even the unfortunate events and endure hardships because ‘there is good in everything’. That sentence will forever stick with many of us.”

The journalist made the remarks on Sunday in a press briefing held in the Iranian capital of Tehran.  

Shoeib, currently a reporter with Lebanon’s Al- Manar TV, has been able to closely follow the heavy confrontation of the Hezbollah Resistance Movement with the Israeli regime in the past 8 months from the southern borders of Lebanon. The journalist has lost several of his colleagues to war throughout his career but remains steadfast in his endeavors to inform the public about the realities on the ground. 

Western media can’t win in battle against truth

Responding to another question by the Tehran Times, Shoeib stated that Western media outlets would not be able to control the narrative on the Gaza war despite their global dominance which remained uncontested for years.

“We are representing the truth, and they are representing Israel’s evil desires. We are going to win no matter what, because our faith and cause is superior,” he explained.

Mainstream media in the West has been covering the war in Gaza in line with Israeli policies. Western outlets have disseminated false information about the Hamas resistance group provided by Zionists since the beginning of the regime’s latest round of onslaughts in Gaza. They have meanwhile censored or fabricated the truth about the plight of Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli military. 

Despite Western media institutions working in tandem to spread Israeli propaganda, polls across Western nations show that the public has largely turned against the regime. Reports suggest that a growing number of citizens now believe Israel to be a colonial and apartheid regime that’s forced Palestinians to pick up arms in pursuit of freedom. 

Israel’s deadly military campaign in Gaza has so far killed over 35,000 civilians and decimated the entire enclave. Over two million people that remain internally displaced there are also grappling with hunger and disease as a result of a full siege by the regime.