The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)’s chief commander says the US and other big powers are today on the back foot in the region after suffering several defeats there, referring to the failure of the sanctions regime against the Islamic Republic as a case in point.
Major General Hossein Salami made the remarks on Monday at Martyrs Cemetery in the city of Kerman, the burial place of Iran’s legendary anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the US in early 2020.
Salami enumerated the United States’ policy failures in Asia, among them its recent humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan, two decades after Washington and its allies invaded the country to eliminate the Taliban.
“These days, we are witnessing that the US is retreating and possibly spending its last months in Iraq. We are witnessing its failures in the dangerous Lebanon project and in its objectives on the Syria front. We also see the defeat of the enemy’s goals and activities in the sanctions it has imposed against Iran and its political and economic siege,” the IRGC chief commander said.
In the case of the anti-Iran pressure tactics, Salami said the Iranian people exercised “revolutionary patience” in the face of the enemy’s psychological warfare and stood firm against sanctions, cultural invasion, and political pressure.
“The enemy encircled us with economic sanctions to make the people surrender, but the people stood firm,” he said.
Salami said the United States would not be able to reverse the trend of its defeats via assassinating figures and commanders with the likes of General Soleimani.
“Today, the signs of self-confidence and victory on the fronts of Islam and resistance are more evident than before, and [on the other hands], we are clearly witnessing…the signs of the enemy’s retreat and defeat,” the senior commander said.
General Soleimani — who headed the IRGC’s Quds Force — was visiting Baghdad at the official invitation of the Iraqi government when he was assassinated, along with his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Units, and their other companions.
Both commanders were highly popular as they played key role in eliminating the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.