Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami pointed to the need to make Iran a powerful country and vowed to stand up for the rights of the Iranian nation.
“The enemy understands nothing other than the language of force and we can only safeguard the rights of the Iranian people if we have power; and we will put our utmost effort into this,” said Hatami on Tuesday on the sidelines of paying tribute to Martyr Soleimani in Kerman. Quds Force commander General Qasem Soleimani and deputy PMU Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were assassinated on Jan. 3 by US terrorist forces in Iraq.
“We are facing a vindictive and determined enemy,” he said, adding that those who are familiar with the school of resistance and martyrdom know the enemy well.
Referring to the participation of millions of Iranians in the funeral procession of Martyr Soleimani, Hatami highlighted that the massive turnout was a ‘slap in the face of the enemy’ and proof that the path of this martyr would continue as before.
In related remarks, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei also pointed to the necessity for gaining power; "The only way ahead for the Iranian nation is to become strong. We should strive to be strong. We are not afraid of negotiating. Of course, we will not negotiate with the US, rather we will negotiate with others. And we will not negotiate from a position of weakness, rather, from a position of strength and power. We are thankfully strong and we will even become stronger by Allah’s favor," the Leader said during Friday prayers sermon on Jan. 17.
