Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to crush the country’s adversaries during a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of IRGC General Qassem Soleimani’s assassination in a US drone strike.

"We will stand firm on what is right. We will remain on this path and with strength, we will crush the faces of these dishonorable people," Pezeshkian said, alluding to Soleimani and those responsible for his assassination.

Soleimani is widely seen as the architect of Iran’s Middle East strategy. Leading the overseas force of the Revolutionary Guards, his impact on Tehran's regional policies outweighed that of any elected official, including the president.

Soleimani was killed on January 2, 2020, under the direct orders of then-US President Donald Trump, in a watershed moment in the Middle East, triggering a series of setbacks for the Islamic Republic.

"Martyr Soleimani had to expose the US and its enemies with his own blood," Pezeshkian said.

He accused Western powers of hypocrisy and destructive actions in the region. The killing of Soleimani, he suggested, was a turning point that revealed the "anti-human and barbaric" nature of the US, Israel, and Europe.