The Islamic Republic foiled an assassination attempt against General Soleimani, which had been orchestrated by spy services of Israel and certain Arab countries with the aim of creating a sectarian war in Iran, Hossein Ta’eb said, Mehr reported on Thursday.
The assassination plot had been decided “a few years ago", he added.

According to Ta’eb, the enemies planned to carry out the assassination in Iran’s southeastern regions during Fatimiyya – the days when Shia Muslims mourn the martyrdom of Fatimah al-Zahra, daughter of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) – and Muharram, when Shias hold mourning ceremonies in commemoration of Imam Hussein (PBUH).

He added that the enemies, frustrated by their failure to upset security in Iran, hatched an extensive plot to target Major General Soleimani in his home province of Kerman.

They sought to buy a property near a mosque built by Soleimani's father in the city of Kerman, dig a tunnel underneath the site and rig it with "350 to 500 kilograms of explosives", he Ta’eb stated.

The team planned to "blow up the entire place" as soon as Soleimani entered the mosque for mourning ceremony. 
Ta’eb said the suspects "went to a neighboring country" and "large sums of money were spent to train and prepare them" to carry out the attack.

General Soleimani heads the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, which runs foreign operations, and is regarded as the mastermind of Iran’s military strategy in the region.

In March, Soleimani received Iran’s highest military award, the “Order of Zulfaqar”, making him the first Iranian commander to receive the medal after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The top general is widely known as one of the most influential military commanders in the world.

The Washington-based magazine Foreign Policy put General Soleimani at the top of its 2019 list of Global Thinkers in the defense and security field in January.

In November 2017, Soleimani, who had been at frontline positions in battles against Daesh (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, declared the end of Daesh.

In his declaration, the commander said Daesh was a dangerous fitna (source of discord) which was “dipped in the poison of Zionism” against the Muslim Ummah in order to create conflicts in the Muslim world.

In this fitna, he said, Daesh committed horrendous crimes, including beheading children, skinning men alive before their families, enslaving innocent girls and women and raping them, burning people alive and killing hundreds of young people en masse.

Earlier this year, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Middle East and the entire world owe General Qassem Soleimani, praising his role in fighting terrorism.

“Major General Soleimani has played a great role in fighting terrorism,” he said.

MH/PA