Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts vote in the presidential election at a polling station in Tehran May 19, 2017. Iran held the presidential election on Friday. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)
"Military operations of this kind is not enough. What is important is to put an end to the corruptive presence of the Americans in the region," said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after Iran's missile attacks on two U.S. military bases in Iraq.
TEHRAN, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday called on the United States to pull its forces out of region, hours after Iran launched missile attacks on two U.S. military bases in Iraq.
Khamenei referred to Iran's missile strike on the U.S. bases, saying that "they were slapped" on the face.
People hold posters during the funeral ceremony of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)
However, "military operations of this kind is not enough," and "what is important is to put an end to the corruptive presence of the Americans in the region," he said.
He gave a speech in Iran's religious city of Qom broadcast live on state TV.
Syrians take part in a protest against the United States and in support of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani at the Saadallah al-Jabiri Square in Aleppo, northern Syria, on Jan. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/photo)
Khamenei said that "Americans have brought war, sedition, destruction and division to the region."
He said "our region and the nations of our region no longer accept the presence of Americans."
On Wednesday, Khamenei highly praised "bravery" of General Qassem Soleimani in fighting what he called against the U.S. and Israel "atrocities" vis-a-vis the regional nations.
Police stand guard at Times Square in New York, the United States, Jan. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
Soleimani, the former commander of Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), was assasinated in a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad international airport on Friday.
In retaliation, IRGC launched multiple missile attacks on the U.S. bases in Iraq on Wednesday. ■
