In a meeting with Iraqi Defense Minister Lt. General Juma Anad Saadoun, held in Tehran on Monday, the IRGC Aerospace Force commander highlighted the importance of developing defense cooperation between the two neighboring countries.
It is important for regional countries to pay due attention to plots hatched by the terrorist regime of the United States, especially for Iraq, the Iranian commander warned.
“The United States has always sought (to dominate) Iraq’s oil wells and divide the country and (it wants) to sow discord between this country’s people and (government) officials,” he added.
He also noted that the IRGC and Iraq's Army have had decisive cooperation in educational, operational and advisory fields in the battle against Daesh Takfiri terrorism in the Arab country, Press TV reported.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a friend of the Iraqi nation during hard times and cares about this country's integrity and (ways to help it) become more powerful," the senior IRGC commander said.
He further pointed to the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Units, along with their companions by the United States in Iraq in January and said Iran would definitely take revenge against the perpetrators of the top Iranian anti-terror commander's martyrdom.
Hajizadeh added that the Iranian and Iraqi nations would never forget that the "terrorist" United States assassinated General Soleimani and Iraq's national hero.
In a meeting with Iraq’s prime minister in July, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei warned the United States that Iran will definitely reciprocate the assassination of Lt. General Soleimani.
The Leader underlined that the Islamic Republic of Iran will never forget the American assassination of the top commander in Iraq and “it will definitely deal the reciprocal blow to Americans.”
On January 3, a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport assassinated General Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. The attack — that also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) anti-terror group, along with several others— came while General Soleimani was on an official visit to the Iraqi capital.
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