TEHRAN, Iran – The top commander of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said on Friday that his country was fully prepared to respond to any U.S. military pressure, as tensions between Tehran and Washington remain high in the last days of President Donald Trump’s administration.
General Hossein Salami spoke at a ceremony at the University of Tehran in celebration of the one-year anniversary of the US drone attack in Baghdad that killed revolutionary guard general Qassem Soleimani, who headed the Quds expeditionary force on January 3, 2020.
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At the time, Iran retaliated by launching a ballistic missile attack on a military base in Iraq that caused brain injuries to about 100 American soldiers. Washington and Tehran came dangerously close to the war as the crisis worsened.
“Today, we have no problem, concern or apprehension about finding any powers. We will give our final words to our enemies on the battlefield,” said Salami, without mentioning the United States directly. Several senior Iranian officials, along with Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese allies and members of Soleimani’s family, were present.
The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami, wearing a mask, attends a ceremony on the first anniversary of the death of the general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and commander of the Quds Force Qasem Soleimani, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 1, 2021. (AP Photo / Ebrahim Noroozi)
Soleimani’s replacement, Brig. General Esmail Ghaani said at the ceremony that Iran is not afraid to confront “powers”, again without naming the United States. He also warned that “freedom seekers” within the United States could retaliate for the attack that killed Soleimani, telling the United States that “inside your own home, there may be people who want to respond to the crime you have committed.”
Iran’s chief justice, Ebrahim Raisi, said that all those who participated in Soleimani’s murder will not be able to “escape law and justice” even if they are presidents of the United States.
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In addition, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted that Iran will not rest until the perpetrators of Soleimani’s murder are brought to justice.
“By committing a cowardly act of terror against General Soleimani, the United States violated international law and the UN Charter in a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” said a post on the ministry’s Twitter. “The illegality of the US on full display. #Iran will not rest until he brings those responsible to justice.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday that Washington would be responsible for the consequences of any possible “adventure” in the region. His comments were made during a call with his Kuwait counterpart, according to the ministry’s website.
The United States has already flown over B-52 bombers and sent a nuclear submarine to the Persian Gulf about what Trump administration officials describe as the possibility of an Iranian attack on the anniversary of Soleimani’s death.
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The strategic calculations on both sides were complicated by the political transition in Washington to the administration of President-elect Joe Biden, who can look for new ways to deal with Iran.