Tehran- Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has said former United States President Donald Trump must face justice for his role in the assassination of top general Qassem Soleimani two years ago, or else Iran will have revenge.
In a televised speech on Monday, the Iranian president said as the “main criminal and killer” who ordered the deadly drone attack on Soleimani’s convoy in Iraq, Trump must face “God’s ruling” and suffer “qisas”, which is the Islamic term for retaliation in kind.
Addressing the American officials during his speech, Iran’s chief executive said, “Martyr Soleimani was official guest of the Iraqi government and by assassinating him, you both violated sovereignty of Iraq and assassinated an entire nation.”
“In the face of this horrible crime, the main violator and murderer and criminal, that is, then president of America [Donald Trump] must be put on trial and be punished in accordance with the God’s command,” Iran’s president said.
Raisi called for the formation of a “fair court” in which Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other American officials are sentenced and punished.
“If Trump and [his secretary of state, Mike] Pompeo and other criminals face trial before a just court and their horrible crime is prosecuted and they are punished for their brazen acts, it would be good. Otherwise I tell all the American statesmen that have no doubt that the [Muslim] Ummah will take revenge [for the assassination of Gen. Soleimani and his companion],” Raisi said.
Meanwhile, judiciary officials have promised to continue following up on the assassination in local and international venues. The country had previously requested Interpol “red notices” for the arrest of Trump and dozens of other US officials.
A local court was set up on Monday, and officials have invited the Iranian public to formally register any grievances they may have with foreign powers for assassinating the general.
Meanwhile Iran’s top human rights official has said Tehran has identified more than a hundred suspects in connection with the horrendous crime.
Speaking in an interview with the state television, Kazem Gharibabadi, secretary general of Iran’s Human Rights Office, explained that 125 individuals, mostly US citizens, have already been identified, and that some countries that were involved in the terrorist act were also asked to provide Iran with related information and documents.
“No individual, institution, country, or political faction involved in the assassination of General Soleimani can and must be able to enjoy impunity,” Gharibabadi underscored.
‘School of Soleimani’
Raisi on Monday delivered his remarks at an event in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla to mark the second anniversary of the killing of the general. The event was televised live and included singing, reciting of poetry, flag-waving and speeches.
A week of events and programmes to commemorate the former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) began on Friday and continued on Monday, with gatherings in Soleimani’s hometown of Kerman and other cities across the country.
The event in Tehran was attended by high-ranking officials and envoys of regional allies like Palestine, Syria and Yemen who are part of the so-called “resistance axis” supported by Iran and expanded by Soleimani for decades.
During his speech, Raisi also painted Soleimani as a man who was more than a mere person “and became a culture, a way, a school”.
“He is not a person, he is a school. And this school is neither destroyed by terror nor by missiles,” the president said.
Raisi said the general never feared the US even as he was fully aware of its military power, “and believed from the depths of his soul that America can’t do a damn thing against us”, echoing a phrase favoured by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian media was awash with content about Soleimani on Monday, and a documentary on him was slated to be aired soon by state television. Cities were filled with posters of Soleimani, at times pictured next to Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was part of Soleimani’s convoy and was also killed along with several others in the drone attack.
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