by Mansoureh Tajik for The Saker Blog

The Saker kindly asked for ‘on the ground’ perspective of how the God-fearing Iranian people are reacting and what this murder will mean for the region.” By all means, it is a fair and fitting request. I would make this a very condensed response. A longer analysis will be done at a later date, God Willing.

Let us first be accurate and precise with the words. It was not a murder. It was a liquidation, according to the one who ordered it. We do not argue with their choice of words. We take their words for it. Because we believe in a just and equitable response, accuracy and precision in choosing our words become rather significant. If others decide to liquidate our most beloved assets for a debt they are not entitled, it is only fair that their most beloved assets get liquidated for a debt we are entitled.

On the ground perspective, in short, «مَا رَأَیْتُ‏ إِلَّا جَمِیلًا» “I did not see except beauty”. If you would like to know what this means, please refer to an article from a few months ago here under the title of “From Karbala to Al-Sham: I did not see except beauty.” If you would like to get a fresh feel for how that meaning is applied and interpreted right now, at this moment, on the ground regarding the martyrdom of our beloved Sardar of the Hearts, Sardar Soleimani, Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, and their martyred companions, then allow me to quote a segment of a powerful eulogy that was delivered by an ordinary person as part of one of the public mourning programs I attended last night. It captures people’s sentiment:

“When our lady Hazrat Zainab (peace be upon her) was running everywhere in the battlefield of Karbala in search of her brother’s body, she could not find but unrecognizable pieces. Our beloved Sardar, at least we saw a part of your hand. How unjustly these Yazidis incinerated you and your companions. These despicable cowards did not have the courage to face you in the battlefields.”

People were screaming, wailing, and beating their chests in response. It is unquestionable that their path is the path of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him). Every local mosque, holy shrines, Husseiniehs, streets, and more are filled with crowds of people who are truly mourning the loss of their dearest warrior.

Beyond that, one can feel, in a very vivid and palpable way, an unusual mood, a very deep anger, and a calculated patience in people. If anyone were to dare to speak of any sort of compromise or talk or negotiation or non-response, without a doubt he would be torn into pieces right then and there in the street. Young and old are waiting for the day after tomorrow “to sign up to be sent to battlefields, anywhere, anytime, by any means.”

This afternoon, January 5, 2020, Seyyed Hassan Nasrullah delivered a speech. Followings are critical excerpts from his speech. The statements chosen for translation here provide specific answers to questions and speculations about an appropriate response by the Resistance.

“The last point is about a just qisas (retribution). The perpetuators are fully known. Those who have committed this crime must pay the price. If Americans had assassinated a personality or had hit a center inside Iran that were unrelated to the resistance axis, then this would have been considered an aggression against Iran and it would have been related to Iran. However, Qasem Soleimani was not just an Iranian, he was the Qasem Soleimani of the entire axis of resistance. Qasem Soleimani means Resistance in Palestinian, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and resistance in any country and location where there are honorable warriors. Qasem Soleimani was an Ummah, a collective.”

“There is no one equivalent in weight and stature to Qasem Soleimani so that one could carry out a qisas on him. A just retribution is the entire existence of American armed forces in the region. American military bases, American Naval forces, every American officer and every American soldier in the region, American military, all of them together are a just retribution for killing Haj Qasem. And this is the equation.”

“We do not wish to provide slogans. We are presenting this plan with care. When the corpses of American officers are sent to America, the Black House will understand that it has lost the entire region. The answer to Sardar Soleimani’s and Haj Abu Mahdi’s blood is to expel Americans from the entire region and this goal, God Willing, will be realized.”

“The idiot Trump and those who surround him do not know what they have done. But the future will show. To them, I speak through Hazrat Zainab (peace be upon her) and say, ‘You do not know whose blood you spilt from us and how you burnt our heart. This is not an ordinary blood.’”

What exactly does it take to liquidate the United States and its tentacles from our region? That is the question the answer to which guides the actions. God Willing.