Gen. Soleimani’s assassination proved US presence in region destabilizing: Foreign Ministry

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has once again denounced the assassination of the country’s legendary counter-terrorism commander, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, by the United States, saying it proved that the US military presence in the West Asia region is destabilizing.

“The unlawful assassination of Gen Soleimani was a wake-up call: the US military presence in our region is destabilizing,” the ministry said in a tweet on Sunday on the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on Gen. Soleimani, Press TV reported.

In its tweet, the ministry likened the US presence in the region to a malignant tumor, noting that "this malignancy has cost the region unspeakable destruction” and urging regional countries to recognize the reality that their peace and security are at stake.

Addressing a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani described the assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander as “an act of revenge” by the US and Israel against the Islamic Republic and other independent nations that foiled the pair’s sinister plots to destabilize the region.

“The martyrdom of General Soleimani was an act of revenge against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the independence of regional countries as well as those great nations that stood against the conspiracies of the United States and Zionism, and broke them,” Rouhani said.

SS