Iran's UN Envoy:

General Soleimani's Assassination Clear Example of State Terrorism

Iranian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN blasted the US' assassination of anti-terrorism commander General Qassem Soleimani, and said that it is clear example of state terrorism.

News ID: 450418

Date: 12 July 2020 - 17:21

Rasa - Takht Ravanchi's remarks came at the Virtual Counter-Terrorism Weekafter the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday condemned the arbitrary actions of governments, including the assassination of General Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

"The only way to fight terrorism is to strengthen multilateralism through increased international cooperation and a collective response to terrorism," he said.

He described unilateralist approaches as the most important challenge in dealing with international terrorism, adding that unilateral coercive measures prevent access to the necessary tools for a collective response to terrorism and undermine international efforts in this area.

Takht Ravanchi called the US coercive actions against Iran as a structural violation of human rights, and a clear example of terrorism and, to a greater extent, economic terrorism which has deliberately targeted ordinary people and caused a lot of damage.

In response to the accusations of the US representative against Iran, Takht Ravanchi said that Iran has been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism in the region against groups such as the ISIL and Al-Qaeda, and in contrast, US interventionist policies in the region have been a major factor in the spread of terrorism in the region and around the world.

In addition, the United States is a major supporter of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK also known as MKO, PMOI and NCRI), one of the most notorious terrorist groups that has killed more than 12,000 Iranians and a large number of Iraqis, he added.

He also called the United States responsible for continuing the tragedies and killing innocent people in Yemen.

In relevant remarks on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi blasted the US' assassination of General Soleimani, and said that it was a cowardly act in flagrant violation of the United Nations' charter.

"The coward assassination of General Soleimani, the anti-terrorism hero of our region, was an arbitrary killing & a clear violation of the UN charter," Mousavi wrote on his Twitter account.

"The US is responsible for this criminal act, & can’t whitewash this by chastizing the UN. We’ll never forget, we’ll never forgive," the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman added.

Lieutenant General Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike on Baghdad International Airport in Iraq on January 3.

The airstrike also martyred Deputy Commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The two were martyred in an American airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport.

Five Iranian and five Iraqi military men were martyred by the missiles fired by the US drone at Baghdad International Airport.

Iran announced in late June that it had issued arrest warrants for 36 officials of the US and other countries who have been involved in the assassination of the martyred General Soleimani.

"36 individuals who have been involved or ordered the assassination of Hajj Qassem, including the political and military officials of the US and other governments, have been identified and arrest warrants have been issued for them by the judiciary officials and red alerts have also been issued for them via the Interpol," Prosecutor-General of Tehran Ali Alqasi Mehr said.

He said that the prosecuted individuals are accused of murder and terrorist action, adding that US President Donald Trump stands at the top of the list and will be prosecuted as soon as he stands down presidency after his term ends.