US notified of Tehran's measures on Soleimani's assassination

The Iranian Foreign Ministry held a ceremony to mark the third anniversary of the martyrdom of General Qassem Soleimani with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Hossein Salami in attendance. Directors and employees of the Foreign Ministry as well as some other high-ranking military and government officials also participated in the ceremony.

In a speech, Amir-Abdollahian paid tribute to the lofty soul of General Soleimani and his martyred companions including Abu Mahdi Muhandis.

He stressed that the inherent duty of the Foreign Ministry is to legally pursue this cowardly assassination, and to this end, at the beginning of the 13th Iranian administration, a diplomat who masters legal and international affairs, was put in charge of following up the murder of General Soleimani in legal and international arenas.

The foreign minister added that a special committee has also been formed in the Foreign Ministry for this purpose to closely work with the judiciary and the legal branch of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, the Quds Force and other organizations in Iran.

He noted that over the past four months, Mr. Kadkhodaei has assumed the task of pursuing the legal and international case of General Soleimani’s assassination in the Foreign Ministry, and he has taken effective measures in this regard.

According to the top diplomat, the Foreign Ministry has managed to speed up the legal and judicial pursuit of the case by using this mechanism.

He stressed that through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran which hosts the US’s interest section, the Foreign Ministry notified the US side of some legal measures Tehran has taken in connection with General Soleimani’s murder. 

Amir-Abdollahian underlined that the Foreign Ministry will not retreat an iota from its responsibilities to bring those who ordered and perpetrated the American assassination, to justice. He added that the Foreign Ministry will continue to relentlessly pursue the matter until these American criminals and terrorists are brought to justice.

He then referred to the Iraqi government’s cooperation in this respect. The foreign minister said there is close cooperation between the judiciaries of the two countries and so far, three rounds of accurate and technical discussions have been held between Tehran and Baghdad.

Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran is going to host a fourth round of the talks next week, adding that necessary documentation for submission during the legal and judicial proceedings at the international level has been made in cooperation with the Iraqi side.

According to the top Iranian diplomat, the Iraqi government has provided proof that General Soleimani was an official guest in Iraq when this cowardly assassination took place.

Amir-Abdollahian said despite the fact that then-Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi confirmed the issue in the early hours following the assassination of General Soleimani, Iran needed to accurately substantiate it with the Iraqi side to use the proof at international and legal bodies.

The foreign minister also explained aspects of the personality and moral characteristics of General Soleimani and some of the effective roles he played in the regional political equations.

Amir-Abdollahian paid tribute to the dear defenders of the Holy Shrine and the defenders of security who were martyred, especially those who lost their lives as a result of riots and meddling by the enemies in recent months.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Hossein Salami also addressed the participants in the ceremony. He said the nature of the work of Iran’s Foreign Ministry is similar to Jihad.

Salami stressed that when it comes to foreign policy, what you do is a sacred Jihad and “for that matter, you can be called the officers of this field”. 

He then spoke about some prominent personal characteristics of General Soleimani and described his lasting role in the building of power for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy.