Spokesman: US violated basic principles of intl. law by assassinating Lt. Gen. Soleimani

According to Press TV, Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said on Thursday “The US assassinated Lt. General Soleimani and his companions by violating the compelling norms and fundamental principles of the international law and also in violation of all fundamental humanitarian and moral elements.”

“Assassination of this national hero and defender of regional peace and security proved that [fighting] Daesh and terrorism is [only] part of the US’ ploy for plundering the region, and that Washington’s claim of fighting terrorism is a completely hollow and baseless claim,” he added.

On January 3, a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport assassinated Lt. General Soleimani, former Commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. The attack -- that also martyred Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Second-in-Command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) anti-terror group, along with several others -- came while Lt. General Soleimani was on an official visit to the Iraqi capital.

In a recent report, Agnes Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, underlined the “unlawful” nature of the operation, and said the US had failed to provide sufficient evidence of an ongoing or imminent attack against its interests to justify the strike.

Also on Thursday, the rapporteur said the US has put the world at unprecedented peril with its assassination of the commander, warning that it was high time the international community broke its silence on Washington’s drone-powered unlawful assassinations.

Both commanders enjoyed profound reverence among Muslim nations over their endeavors in eliminating the US-sponsored Daesh terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.

Back then, however, US President Donlad Trump, on whose direct orders the atrocity took place, claimed that Lt. General Soleimani was "the world's top terrorist" and "should have been terminated long ago."

Elsewhere in his remarks, Mousavi pointed to recurrent remarks by former and current American officials in alleged defense of the assassination, saying, “It is nothing new for professional criminals to try to justify their atrocities.”

He called Lt. Gen. Soleimani the most influential force against expansion of terrorism and violent extremism, especially the type staged by Daesh, across the region and the world.

The official called on the United Nations and its Human Rights Council to do their part in addressing and condemning such dangerous measures as the one taken by Washington.