Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday that the “assassination” of General Qasem Soleimani would be “avenged”, addressing thousands of people commemorating the 3rd anniversary of the commander’s death, AFP and Agerpres reported.

General Qassem Soleimani, a charismatic and popular figure in Iran, was killed in a US raid in Baghdad on January 3, 2020.

“We have not forgotten and will not forget the blood of martyr Suleimani,” Raisi told thousands of people gathered in Tehran’s largest prayer hall in memory of the former commander of the Quds Force, the external operational wing of the Revolutionary Guards.

He warned the “murderers and organizers” of the crime that “revenge for the blood of the martyr Suleimani is inevitable and those who committed the murder will not sleep easy.”

“Martyr Suleimani defeated the USA, the guerrillas of the terrorist movement and the Islamic State in the region”

Last year, Raisi held former US President Donald Trump responsible for Soleimani’s death and vowed revenge if he was not prosecuted.

However, Trump does not appear to be the only American on the list: Iran has “identified and indicted 154 defendants, including 96 American citizens,” said judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi.

The Iranian president also said that the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group was a prelude to the defeat of “American hegemony” in the world.

“Martyr Soleimani defeated the United States, the supporters of the terrorist movement and the Islamic State in the region (…) and this was a prelude to the defeat of American hegemony in the world,” he told thousands of people. waving flags or carrying portraits of the general.

Soleimani, killed three years ago in a US drone strike

Qasem Soleimani was killed along with his Iraqi lieutenant, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport.

Five days later, Iran responded by firing missiles at the US base in Ain al-Assad, where US troops were stationed in Iraq, and another missile near Erbil in the north of the country.

No US soldiers were killed in the attacks, but dozens of people suffered traumatic brain injuries in the blasts, according to Washington.

At the time, President Trump said he had ordered the drone strike in response to a series of attacks against American interests in Iraq, and that more were expected.

Iran’s foreign ministry tweeted on Friday that “the current US government bears the ultimate international responsibility for this crime.”