At the onset of 2020, the brutal decision was taken in the White House to assassinate the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, Lieutenant Qassim Soleimani, along with the deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, Abo Mahdi Al-Muhandis. The appalling crime has, indeed, punched the Axis of Resistance in the face, and the blowback will be painful.

The Zionists and the Americans’ wish was to thwart the escalation of the Axis of Resistance’s strength and capabilities, but then again they have immensely failed. Hajj Qassim and Haj Abo Mahdi Al-Muhandis’ martyrdom has rather fueled decades of steadfastness and perseverance among the West Asian righteous resistances.

Both brave martyrs are martyrs of the entire humanity. Shall we ever ponder what would have happened to the world had they not combatted the ‘takfiri’ scheme of dividing our hometowns and inciting civil skirmishes among fellow compatriots?

Their loss is irreplaceable - whatsoever- due to their exceptional and unyielding expertise, virtues, piety, spirituality, and humility. We cannot but remember that they have brought up thousands of ferocious brave fighters and martyrs with the same lofty traits they both held.

What the cowardly assassination has maintained is that the Resistance - made up of several nationalities - is one, never bound by geography, language, ethnicity, or narrow interests. 

The legacy of both courageous martyrs will kick-start the end of the US supremacy and malign presence in West Asia much more than when the Americans were humiliated in Vietnam. Further, the zero-hour of the apartheid temporary entity has now gotten closer as it is no longer welcomed nor tolerated, contrary to some Persian-Gulf monarchs' wish to normalize ties to save their shakable thrones.

Undeniably, the obvious example of the US state terrorism criminal act has saddened the impoverished, the downtrodden, and the deprived. However, the cowardly assassination has not provided the hostile murderers with the domino effect they had hoped for.

By targeting them, Washington aimed to crush their accomplishments, nevertheless, persistence is still the main feature of the entire Axis of Resistance, which, indeed, is advancing on many fronts while Tehran’s might does not concede, rather, it enforces others to solicit negotiations.

Hajj Qassim excelled in the field with his increasing military power - on the one hand - and his great popularity - on the other - especially after his significant role in eliminating takfiris in Iraq and Syria and thwarting the US hegemonic schemes. He was responsible for handling many regional files, and so he did with great competencies.

The White House has extrajudicially murdered a diplomatic envoy because he has, like no one else has done, stood for justice and peace and against occupation and imperialist colonial hegemony. Definitely, Hajj Qassim has been the most prominent operational strategist in the struggle against Western arrogance; the man of war and politics. Kerman’s revolutionary figure chose to contest the US and its tools in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine... all the way to Yemen and beyond.

Hajj Qassim was present on all the pivotal battlefields in Salah Al-Din in Iraq, in Mosul, Tikrit, in Al-Bukamal, and in the Southern Suburbs of Beirut in 2006 along with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and martyr Hajj Imad Mughneyeh. 

Hajj Qassim efforts focused on both conventional and soft warfare, saving the lives of both Muslims and Christians, Arabs, Kurds, and Persians, supporting the Palestinians and their right to resist foreign aggression, marinating in-house rapprochement in Iraq, and assisting his own besieged nation. 

Besides, Hajj Qassim has time after time taught us that it is our right to live independently and to safeguard our sovereignty. He has connected all the Resistance factions. Neither distances nor language prevented him from doing his great Jihad. His blood will undeniably secure the road to Palestine, which has been usurped and colonized for more than seven decades now.

Hajj Qassim’s legacy will go down in history as the warrior whose martyrdom has shaken the foundation of the globe's arrogance, NATO, and the Gulf puppets.

Hajj Qassim has reshaped the rules of engagement through his actions. His fingerprints are grained all over the region beyond the scope of Iran. He sacrificed the warmth of being with his family, prestigious positions, and life pleasures to side with the path of truth and justice, and he was eventually coroneted as a ‘martyr’.

Hajj Qassim has inspired us to work hard so that one day the apartheid Zionist occupation will come to an end, and therefore retain control of our lands and resources. Hajj Qassim has put forth a great legacy that the sincere soldiers of Imam Khomeini’s Revolution can do the impossible. We – as youths – must excel in all fields: media, military, academia, and diplomacy for the sake of changing forever the face of our region.

Personally - as a daughter of a Lebanese Resistance and fervent follower of the Islamic revolution & its supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei - I am forever grateful to Hajj Qassim’s unshakeable sacrifices, which obliges me to hold tight to his lofty mission and be the voice of the voiceless.