I wish to raise two, three points about our dear martyr – Hajj Qasem Soleimani. One point is about his character. Well, these days, many things have been said about that great personality, that good, dear, courageous and fortunate comrade of ours who went to heaven. And what they said about him and his personality traits are correct, but I too wish to raise certain points which I think are important:

Shahid Soleimani was both brave and insightful. His actions were not merely marked by courage. Some people have courage, but they do not have the necessary wisdom and acumen to utilize their courage. And some people enjoy the wisdom, but they do not take action. They do not have the guts to take action. Our dear martyr both had the necessary guts and the necessary acumen. He would embrace danger and he had no fears. His courage showed itself not only in recent events but also during the Sacred Defense Era during which time, he was the commander of the Tharallah Army. Both he and his army showed exemplary courage. And he was a man of wisdom as well. He would think carefully and he had reasons for his actions.

This simultaneous courage and acumen manifested itself not only in the arena of the military but also in the arena of politics. I said this many times to the friends active in the arena of politics as we were witness to his behavior and his actions. He was courageous and wise in the arena of politics as well. His words would exert tremendous influence and they were convincing. Above all, he was pure and sincere. He would expend his courage and acumen on the path of God and he was not a hypocrite and a pretentious man. Sincerity is very important. We should practice sincerity as well.

Another one of his qualities was that despite being a commander who had mastery over the military, he was very careful to observe shar’i[Religious] principles. Sometimes, people forget about shar’i principles in the arena of war, saying that there is no time for that, but he was very careful in this regard. He would not use weapons if he did not deem it necessary. He would take care not to transgress against other people’s rights. He would exercise caution in areas that many people do not deem necessary, but he would try to be cautious. He would embrace danger, but at the same time, he would protect others’ lives as far as he could. He would watch over the lives of his comrades, his soldiers and his colleagues from among other nations who stood beside him.

An important point in this respect is that regarding the domestic issues of the country – well, most comments about him are about his regional battles and activities – he did not belong to any party and faction, but at the same time, he was a revolutionary in the complete sense of the word. The Revolution and being revolutionary were his definite red lines. Some people should not try to undermine this aspect of his personality. This is a reality about him. He was absorbed by the Revolution and being a revolutionary was his red line. Of course, he was not interested in aligning himself with different parties, different factions and the like, but he was completely committed to the idea of being a revolutionary. He was committed to the Revolution and to the auspicious and dazzling guidelines of our late Imam (may God bestow paradise on him).

One example of his insight and his courage was that – the enemies might know this well, but some friends might not know it – is that he managed to foil all illegitimate plots of the Americans in West Asia with the help of regional peoples – or it could be said with the support that he offered to them. That man managed to stand up to all the plots that had been hatched with money, with vast propaganda efforts made by the Americans, with the diplomatic capabilities of the Americans and with the bullying that they exert on politicians – particularly on some weak countries. He managed to foil all the schemes set up by them in West Asia.

Regarding Palestine, the Americans intended to consign the issue of Palestine to oblivion and to keep the Palestinians weak so that they would not dare speak of fighting, but that man empowered the Palestinians. He did something to make a small region like the Gaza strip – which is a small strip of land – stand up to the Zionist regime despite all their extravagant claims. He created such a disastrous situation for them that they asked for a ceasefire after just 48 hours! This was done by Hajj Qasem Soleimani. He empowered the Palestinians. He helped them stand up and resist.

This is what our Palestinian brothers have said to me time and time again. Of course, I was already aware of his feats, but they testified to that. All Palestinian leaders acknowledged the same thing on their numerous trips to our country. That is while when we had meetings with such officials, who were in contact with him – these were ordinary official meetings – he would sit in a corner in order not to be seen by others. If we needed to know his opinion and if we needed his testimony, we had to look here and there to find him. He would not place himself within sight and he was not a man of pretention.

The US plans in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon were foiled thanks to the assistance and actions of that dear martyr. The Americans would like Iraq to be like the taghuti regime of Iran – the Pahlavi regime which existed in the past – or like today’s Saudi Arabia. They want it to be a region full of oil where they will be able to do whatever pleases them. As that person said, they want that country to be a “dairy cow”. They want Iraq to be like that. However, pious and brave personalities, youth and Marja taqlids of Iraq stood up to the Americans and Hajj Qasem- may God bestow paradise on him- helped and supported that vast front in its entirety. He proved to be an active counsellor and supporter in that country.

The same thing can be seen in the case of Syria and Lebanon. As for Lebanon, the Americans are willing to deprive Lebanon of its most important element of independence – in other words, the Resistance Force and Hezbollah – so much so that Lebanon would be defenceless in the face of Israel and so that they would be able to advance as far as Beirut. As it happens, they did so years ago. However, Hezbollah became stronger on a daily basis. Today, Hezbollah serves as both the hands and the eyes of Lebanon. And our dear martyr played a brilliant and prominent role in this regard. He enjoyed acumen and courage. He was a brave mujahid and a diligent brother.

Nations are thankfully awake. Today, nations are awake, but the role of our dear martyr and his local comrades was exemplary. An example of his comrades is Shahid Abu Mahdi- may God bestow paradise on him. He was an enlightened, pious and brave man. When one looked at him, his face was an embodiment of this sentence: “My face is lit up with Your light” [al-Kafi, Vol.4, page 562]. Abu Mahdi was like that. He had a bright, spiritual and Godly face. Shahid Soleimani managed to accomplish these great feats with such pious, valorous and enlightened men. These points were about our martyr. Of course, one can say many more things about this dear martyr of ours, but this much is enough for the moment.

Another chapter about Shahid Soleimani is the blessings ensuing his great martyrdom. Whenever that dear martyr delivered a report – be that a verbal or a written report about the tasks that he had carried out – I would praise him both verbally and deep in my heart, but [today] I bow down in respect to what he started and brought about for the country and for the whole region [Audience weeps]. A great feat was accomplished. He caused a movement. His spirituality and his martyrdom made him so prominent and outstanding. See how the Iranians and the Iraqis bid farewell to him. Notice how the people in Kadhamayn, in Baghdad, in Najaf and in Karbala behaved in bidding farewell to that body torn to pieces. [Audience weeps]. I thank his pure soul from the bottom of my heart.

His martyrdom showed the whole world that the Revolution is alive in our country. Some people wanted to pretend that the Revolution is over and that it is dead – of course, some people are still trying to make this happen. However, his martyrdom showed that the Revolution is alive. You saw what happened in Tehran and in other cities. Of course, I am deeply sorry for and touched by the bitter incident that occurred in Kerman as a result of which, some of our dear compatriots from Kerman lost their lives and I wish to express my condolences to their families [Referring to the death of a number of people in Kerman during the burial ceremony of Shahid Qasem Soleimani].  I hope that the pure souls of the deceased will be raised with Shahid Soleimani.

With his martyrdom, Shahid Soleimani cleansed dust-covered eyes. The enemies felt humble in the face of the greatness of the Iranian nation. Of course, they may not show it, but they have no other option. The enemies who are trying to describe that grand mujahid and that Sardar and Commander of fighting against terrorism as a terrorist – in other words, the unfair and untruthful Americans who rave and rant all the time and whose words are actually worthless – had such intentions in mind, but the Iranian nation slapped them across the face!