On Qassem Soleimani’s death anniversary, notorious commander of the terrorist Quds Force, one after the other, the clerical regime’s leaders, exploiting the transition of power in the United States threatened to assassinate the U.S. President and other officials involved in Soleimani’s assassination. The objective of this terrorist chorus is to intimidate the officials of the next U.S. government in a bid to gain concessions.
Hassan Rouhani told the State TV on December 31, “Trump will be overthrown in the coming weeks, not just from government, even from living… The people of the region and Iran will avenge for shedding the blood of (Qassem Soleimani).”
Yesterday, in remarks broadcast on State TV, Ebrahim Raisi, the regime’s Judiciary Chief, also threatened the U.S. President and other officials with assassination and “severe revenge”, saying that they should not think that “if anyone is in the position of the President of the United States”, he is untouchable. “None of them will be safe anywhere on the planet.”
According to Hamshahri daily on Thursday, addressing the regime’s parliament, Soleimani’s successor, Esmail Ghaani, said, “The American perpetrators must learn how to live in hiding like Salman Rushdie because the Islamic Republic will take Soleimani’s revenge.” He subsequently called out the U.S. President, the Secretaries of Defense and State, and warned them that they must “learn Salman Rushdie’s secret lifestyle.” He added, “Rest assured that even inside your homes (territory), there may be people who will make you payback for this crime.”
Hossein Salami, the IRGC’s Commander-in-Chief was also quoted by ILNA, news agency yesterday, as saying, “We will take retaliate against the perpetrators and those who instigated Soleimani’s death,” adding, “They will not live comfortably.” Rahim Aqdam, the commander of an IRGC base in Syria named Zeinab, said, “Mr. Trump must take this blow from where he does not anticipate, and it will be a very, very major blow.”
Five days ago, Hassan Nasrallah, head of the terrorist group, Hezbollah, reiterated that Khamenei had decreed that those involved in Soleimani’s death must be “harshly targeted in retaliation. Anyone who concludes that someone has been involved in this operation must retaliate against him. Besides Trump, anyone who was a decision-maker and agent of the operation should be the target of severe revenge,” reported Tasnim, IRGC’s Quds Force-affiliated news agency, on December 27, 2020.
The above statements and the coordinate chorus affirm the need for decisive action vis-à-vis the regime’s terrorist threats and require international action by the United Nations Security Council. Rouhani, Raisi, and other leaders of the regime, as well as the Judiciary and regime’s media and propaganda apparatus, should all be included in the terrorist list for facilitating assassination and repression.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
January 2, 2021
