Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei threatened the US forces present in Syria, indicating that the continuation of their bases would be “impossible.”

Khamenei said at a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the assassination of the architect of Iran’s regional strategy, General Qassem Soleimani, that Syria “is in a state of chaos, and its lands are being occupied by foreign powers; America on the one hand, the Zionist entity on the other, and some aggressive countries on the third.” He believed that “the Syrian people will triumph, sooner or later, over the occupiers, and the resistance of Yemen, Palestine, and Lebanon will continue.” He criticized the “successive construction” of American bases in Syria. He continued, saying: “The aggressor must leave the nation’s land, otherwise he will be expelled; therefore, American military bases will be trampled under the feet of Syrian youth.”

Khamenei defended his country’s regional strategy, speaking of Soleimani’s role in training and qualifying combat forces against US forces since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, noting that he “thwarted an American plot that targeted Iran.” He added that Soleimani’s strategy was to “revive the resistance front” using “national forces and youth” in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Meanwhile, the deputy commander of the Quds Force, Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi, said that US President-elect Donald Trump “must be held accountable” for ordering the killing of Soleimani five years ago.