TEHRAN – Iranian writers Mahmud Dowlatabadi and Ebrahim Hassanbeigi have expressed sympathy over the martyrdom of Quds Force commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani who was martyred in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad on Friday.

“From the moment I heard the news of the terror attack, I have been asking myself if annihilation is the fate of all honorable children of this land, with any kind of thoughts and attitudes,” Dowlatabadi wrote in a statement published in the Saturday edition of Iran Persian daily.

“Iran has lost one of its eminent children once again with no hesitation, a personality that made a huge barrier against the brutal Daesh and saved our country’s borders from their miserable presence. I am also grieved over the loss of the person who I liked from a distance,” the letter adds.

“Kelidar”, “Desert Strata”, “The Trip”, “The Legend of Baba Sobhan”, “The Cowherd”, “Aqil”, “Man” and “Missing Soluch” are among Dowlatabadi’s noteworthy credits.

In a letter published by the Persian service of MNA on Saturday, Hassanbeigi wrote, “I thought commander Qassem Soleimani could be the future president of Iran. I had told this to a few friends of mine who are writers.” 

“Nobody took it seriously. Perhaps it was not serious. It was only an idea that did not even have a background of political analysis. But I liked the idea. I missed a powerful, strong and pious individual as a candidate for the next presidential election.

“I thought perhaps he could come and bring hope. Most of us are worried that the great men are missing in politics, Soleimani was the only one who everybody liked and nobody envied him.

“When the hostile foreign media called him general and remembered him as the one who saved people from Daesh, we Iranians were proud of him and of course were worried about his life.

“He lived among us like a martyr. He was a martyred spirit in the cage of a body who impatiently was waiting to reach his final destination. He was the man of action. The man whose enemies were afraid of him and his friends were happy with him.”

Hassanbeigi’s books include “Muhammad (S)”, “Gisu and the Magic Lamp”, “Sufi and the Magic Lamp”, “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp”, “Mayor’s Excellency” and “The Rose on the Rug”. 

Photo: Combination photo of writers Ebrahim Hassanbeigi and Mahmud Dowlatabadi.

RM/MMS/YAW