Leader: Syria invaders will be forced to retreat by Syrian youth
Ayatollah Khamenei lauds Gen. Soleimani’s role in reviving Resistance Front
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said those who have invaded the Syrian territory will be forced to retreat in the face of the power of the Arab country’s youth.
Addressing a group of families of martyrs, veterans, and resistance activists ahead of the fifth martyrdom anniversary of General Qassem Soleimani, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Syria belongs to the Syrian people, and those who invade Syrian soil will undoubtedly one day be forced to retreat in the face of the power of the valiant Syrian youth.”
Referring to the establishment of new US bases in the Arab country, the Leader emphasized that the aggressors should leave the territory which belongs to a nation or they will be expelled; therefore, the American bases in Syria would be trampled upon under the feet of Syrian youth.
Since the beginning of foreign-backed war in Syria in 2011, the US have established several military bases in northeastern part of Syria and deployed around 900 troops on the pretext of fighting Daesh terrorist group.
On December 9, a day after the fall of the government of former president Bashar al-Assad, the US President Joe Biden said that US troops will remain in Syria to fight Daesh, with the Pentagon revealing that there were around 2,000 US troops in the Arab country.
Ayatollah Khamenei also praised as “unique” the sacrifices of Iran’s top anti-terror commander, who was assassinated in 2020.
The US assassinated General Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units, in a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.
“Martyr Soleimani’s constant strategy was to revive the Resistance Front. He always tried to revitalize the resistance,” the Leader said.
The Leader described the top Iranian commander’s role in the fight against terrorism as “matchless” and said his sacrifices and services “must remain in our political teachings.”
He said defending the holy sites was a “tenet” for Martyr Soleimani, who invariably referenced Iran as a “sacred shrine.”
“If these lives had not been lost, if this struggle had not been fought, and if Hajj Qassem Soleimani had not marched through the mountains and deserts of this region so bravely…, there would be no sign of these holy sites today,” the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said a very important characteristic of General Soleimani was his assessment of the country’s issues with a global perspective and avoiding a closed and limited outlook.
“He believed that every important regional and global incident had an impact on the issues in our country, and with this perspective and assessment, he detected the danger from outside the borders and took action to prevent and remedy it.”
Underlining that the developments in the past few years and defending the holy shrines in Iraq, Syria and across the region prove that the Islamic Revolution is “alive,” Ayatollah Khamenei promised that “the truth front” will definitely emerge victorious.
“The defenders of shrines showed that despite the hefty investments and expenses of ill-wishers, the flag of resistance is still flying high and the enemy has not been able to and will not be able to pull down the flag of resistance in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, and Iran,” he said.
“Lebanon is a symbol of resistance, it will be victorious, [and] Yemen is a symbol of resistance, it will be victorious.”