TEHRAN- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the government is seeking to utilize all legal, political, and diplomatic avenues to hold accountable all those responsible for the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the country's highest-level counterterrorism commander.In a television interview on the occasion of General Soleimani's third martyrdom anniversary, Amir Abdollahian noted that “all required precautions have been taken.”Iran's top diplomat said, “In addition to using all possible legal avenues, we have recognized and registered the U.S.

administration's role in the assassination through an official letter, and we will pursue our complaint along its own natural course.”“Sadly, both Americans and other Western countries are attempting to impede and stonewall the legal follow-up of the issue,” Amir Abdollahian continued.He further said, “The Islamic Republic's hands are not tied,” saying that in addition to legal action, the nation is also pursuing plenty actions against those guilty for the assassination of General Soleimani.Iran has added the names of 60 American officials who may have played a role in the terror act to its terrorist blacklist, according to Amir Abdollahian, who listed these actions.Based on the remarks made by the foreign minister, the latter action has not gone down well with the Americans, who have demanded that the Islamic Republic to remove the names of those people off the list. Amir Abdollahian pointed out that the American side has emphasized to the Islamic Republic through indirect channels that the blacklisting has caused Washington to devote "exorbitant expenses" in securing those individuals' safety both inside the United States and during their international visits.The blacklisting, however, has been defended by Iran as an "exact and right" step, stated the top diplomat. He reiterated that the Iranian foreign ministry will make every effort in pursuing the issue of the assassination, adding, “We will follow up on this action through political, legal, and international channels, so these individuals will be brought to justice.”On January 3, 2020, a drone attack carried out by the United States assassinated General Soleimani, the former head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq's anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units, and their loyal companions as well. Due to their participation in the elimination of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in late 2017, the commanders had gained a great deal of favor with the local populations. The terror group first appeared in Syria and its neighboring Iraq in 2014, just as Washington was running out of justifications for continuing or expanding its interference in the region.Massive demonstrations and funeral processions took place in the Arab nations and elsewhere in the region in the wake of the assassinations. Soon after the massacre, the Iraqi parliament unanimously approved a legislation ordering the withdrawal of all U.S.-led forces from the country.Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, praised the late general's sacrifices in a speech earlier on Sunday.“The general protected, armed, and resurrected this everlasting, developing phenomenon against the Zionist regime, U.S.

influence in the region, and other arrogant countries by boosting the physical, moral, and mental dimensions of the resistance,” the Leader stated.The Leader also cited General Soleimani's annihilation of Daesh and uprooting of its subsidiaries as one of his major accomplishments.