Page 6 - IRANRptOct20

2.2​ ​Iranian general threatens to “blow away” all Trump’s “fluff”
An Iranian military commander has threatened to “blow away” all US President Donald Trump’s “fluff”, according to a Radio Farda ​report​. Hardline Iranians have repeatedly vowed that proper revenge will be exacted for the US drone strike assassination in January of the de facto head of Iran’s armed forces, Qasem Soleimani, and in a recent speech, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami, reportedly said: "Mr Trump! Our revenge for the martyrdom of our great general is obvious, serious, and real.
"If a strand of hair comes off an Iranian head, we'll blow away all your fluff." Soleimani commanded the IRGC Quds Force, an expeditionary force that has fought battles across Middle East conflict zones including in Iraq and Syria. To a large extent, he was viewed as running Iran’s foreign policy across the region and coordinating actions with Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Trump has said the killing of Soleimani was justified because he was the “world’s number one terrorist”, responsible for the deaths of many US soldiers, such as those killed with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), in Iraq.
In a speech on September 28, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif touched again on Tehran’s line that the US had done Islamic State (ISIS) a favour as Soleimani was "ISIS's enemy number one".
He added that the drone assassination was proof of the Americans' “cowardice and savagery” but also reflected on how important Soleimani was to Iran, observing that the US “hit so hard that we are left with only one arm”.
2.3​ ​US sanctions amount to unprecedented savagery that has cost Iranian people $150bn says Rouhani
The sanctions regime imposed on Iran by the US amounts to unprecedented “savagery” that has cost the Iranian people $150mn, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on September 26.
Telling Iranians to direct their anger over the impact of sanctions at Washington, he said the sanctions had even prevented the purchase of medicines and food. Such humanitarian supplies are theoretically exempt from US sanctions, but many companies fear breaking the rules and thus steer clear of transactions with Tehran.
“With their illegal and inhuman sanctions, and terrorist actions, the Americans have inflicted $150bn of damage on the people of Iran,” Rouhani said.
He added: “We haven’t seen such an extent of savagery. The correct address for all crimes and pressure against the dear Iranian people is Washington, D.C., the White House.”
Rouhani bitterly criticised US Secretary of State Miki Pompeo, saying that while he presents himself as the minister of foreign affairs, he is in reality “the minister of crimes".
6​ IRAN Country Report October 2020 www.intellinews.com