WANA (Jul 07) – The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force said the planned funeral procession for the late Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, referred to as the “martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution,” in Iraq on Wednesday would strengthen the unity of the Iranian and Iraqi peoples against what he described as U.S. “plots.”

 

Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani wrote on his social media account that the public demand to hold the funeral procession for the late Iranian leader in Iraq, along with the extensive preparations made by the Iraqi government and people for what he described as a historic event, demonstrated the depth of the spiritual bond between the two nations.

 

He said the late leader’s support for the Iraqi people and the role of Iraq’s senior religious authority led to the late Qassem Soleimani fighting alongside devoted Iraqi youths against ISIS and what he described as the invading United States. Qaani added that U.S. President Donald Trump later ordered the killing of Soleimani alongside Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces.

 

Qaani said the unprecedented funeral procession for the late Iranian leader in Iraq, similar to the large-scale funerals of Soleimani and al-Muhandis, would further strengthen the united front of the Iranian and Iraqi peoples against what he described as U.S. plots and make the “red line” of seeking revenge for their blood more prominent.