‘Gen. Soleimani is still with us’: Russian adviser recalls meetings with late commander

A Russian adviser has praised the late Iranian anti-terror commander martyr Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani for his exceptional courage, honesty, and wisdom, recalling several meetings with him between 2015 and 2017.

Speaking during a memorial ceremony for Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani on Thursday in Moscow, Dmitry Malyshev, now an adviser to the head of RosGeo, Russia’s largest state-owned geological holding, said he had multiple encounters with General Soleimani while carrying out energy-related missions linked to the Russian gas giant Gazprom.

The event, titled “Spiritual Unity of the Peoples of Russia and Iran,” was organized by the All-Russian People’s Union and attended by Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, along with a number of Russian scholars and intellectuals.

Malyshev noted that the ceremony coincided with the fifth anniversary of General Soleimani’s martyrdom, adding that participants were remembering heroes who, like Soleimani, served humanity.

“One could even say this occasion is a celebration for us,” Malyshev said, “because Qassem Soleimani is still with us today.”

General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and their companions were assassinated in a US drone strike authorized by US President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.

Iran: General Soleimani unmasked US, Israel; expanded authority of regional resistance

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh says the resistance front is powerful due to the sacrifices made by Iran’s late anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

According to Malyshev, his meetings with General Soleimani took place in Iran between 2015 and 2017, at a time when the late commander was managing the fight against terrorism in the region and therefore had an extremely demanding schedule.

“For me, as a Russian citizen, it was a great honor to discuss Iran-Russia relations, the deepening of these ties, and their future prospects with General Soleimani,” he said.

Malyshev recalled that his first conversation with General Soleimani lasted about an hour. “From that very first meeting, I realized that he was a great man and a true hero of the Iranian nation,” he said.

He added that he found General Soleimani to be extraordinarily brave, trustworthy, and sincere in both word and action, emphasizing that the Iranian commander was deeply committed to safeguarding the interests of his people. “The wisdom in his thinking was particularly striking to me,” Malyshev noted.

Calling General Soleimani’s loss a tremendous tragedy, Malyshev said it was accurate to describe him as the victim of a terrorist act.

He concluded by saying that those responsible for the assassination—both those who carried it out and those who ordered it—would ultimately be held accountable.

Turkish politician hails Soleimani's 'heroic' resistance against Zionism

Özgür Bursali, Secretary-General of Turkey’s Patriotic Party, was another speaker at the event who said General Soleimani had left behind “a very great legacy,” adding his path continues to be followed.

He described Iran as resisting “imperialism and Zionism in a heroic manner,” and said the party believes Soleimani was assassinated on this path, but that “thousands of other Soleimanis were born” as a result.

Bursali also argued that the world is approaching “the end of US hegemony and the power structure designed after World War II.”

He said his party believes the peoples of Turkey, Iran, Russia and Palestine stand side by side and face a difficult road ahead in “a struggle for humanity,” adding that all must unite on a common front to fight imperialism and Zionism.

Gen. Soleimani stood by Iraq during most challenging times: Iraqi PM

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani says Iran’s late top anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani he stood by the Arab country during most challenging times.

General Soleimani was highly revered across West Asia because of his key role in fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.

Two days after his assassination, Iraqi lawmakers approved a bill that required the government to end the presence of all foreign military forces led by the US in the country.

The IRGC also targeted the US-run Ain al-Asad base in Iraq’s western province of Anbar with a wave of missile attacks in retaliation for the assassination of General Soleimani.

According to the Pentagon, more than 100 American forces suffered “traumatic brain injuries” during the counterstrike on the base, with the Islamic Republic describing the missile attack on Ain al-Assad as a “first slap.”

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