The commander of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said the self-declared Islamic State (IS) terrorist group is nearing its end.
In his speech at a ceremony held on Wednesday in Kerman Province to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Major General Qassem Soleimani said, "Regarding the heavy defeats Daesh (the Arabic acronym for IS) and other terrorist groups suffered in Syria and Iraq, we are certain that these groups are nearing the end of their lives."
"Inciting and organizing takfiri groups as the ultimate weapon of the arrogant (referring to the United States and its western allies) are meant to tarnish the image of Islam and fan the flames of sedition and internal conflicts among Muslims," IRNA on Thursday quoted Soleimani as saying.
A takfiri is a Muslim who regards followers of other faiths and some Islamic sects as unbelievers.
He reiterated, "Today the signs of the (Islamic) revolution being exported throughout the region from Bahrain to Iraq and from Syria to Yemen and North Africa can be seen."
The Qods Force commander also pointed out that western powers and the Zionists due to their repeated defeats against the resistance front have acknowledged their weakness and the Islamic Republic's power.
Touching on the retaliatory missile attack by Lebanon's Hezbollah on a convoy of Israeli military vehicles on the frontier with Lebanon in late January which killed several Zionist soldiers, Soleimani described Hezbollah a "prominent symbol" of resistance "which managed to deal a blow to the Israeli army while it was on high alert."
Hezbollah's operation was carried out in response to a January 18 Israeli air strike in southern Syria that killed several Hezbollah members and an Iranian general.
IS has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq, declaring a "caliphate" and committing widespread atrocities.
General Soleimani has become the public face of Iran's support for the Iraqi and Syrian governments in their campaigns against terrorist groups.
