“A year ago today, 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 #1 of extremist terrorists was cowardly assassinated by the terrorist-in-chief,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet on Sunday night.

“As our region solemnly commemorates his one year passing, a reminder that the only beneficiary of his murder is Daesh (ISIS), which has only increased its activity since,” the top Iranian diplomat added.

Lieutenant General Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Units, were assassinated along with their companions in a US terror drone strike authorized by President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.

The two commanders were highly popular because of the key role they played in eliminating the US-sponsored Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.