TEHRAN – Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces on Tuesday lauded the role of Martyr Qassem Soleimani in defeating the terrorists in Syria and Iraq, saying that those groups aimed to undermine Iran’s security.

The terrorists endangered the security and sovereignty of Iraq and Syria and had not been for the advisory presence of Martyr Soleimani and other commanders, the cooperation of commanders with the nations and governments of Syria and Iraq, and the support from Marja’s, these countries would have been now under terror groups such as ISIL, Major General Mohammad Bagheri said on Tuesday.

General Bagheri made the remarks on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of Panorama Museum of Martyr General Soleimani Resistance in Tehran, according to Mehr.

“Terrorists and their supporters sought to take control of Syria and Iraq to undermine the security of Iran. Those battles that ended with the defeat and elimination of enemies caused our nations to move on the path of development with peace,” he said.

This exhibition displays a short section of Resistance Front’s efforts and supports of the Islamic Republic for confronting the plots of the Global Arrogance and its regional allies, and terrorist groups created by the enemy, he said.

The exhibition, the Major General continued, shows how the enemy of humankind and Islam sought to endanger the freedom and security of regional countries by the creation of brutal terrorist groups.

On January 3, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes that martyred General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), in Baghdad’s international airport.

Soleimani was recognized internationally as a legendary commander in the war against terrorist groups, especially Daesh (ISIS).

In retaliation for the assassination of General Soleimani, who headed the IRGC Quds Force, an Iranian ballistic-missile strike on January 8 targeted a U.S. base in Iraq housing U.S. forces, leaving some 110 U.S. troops suffering from traumatic brain injuries.

MH/PA