Tehran (IP) - In the part of the sermon delivered in Arabic in Tehran Friday Prayers led by Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Revolution said the real punishment would be in forcing the US to withdraw from the Middle East.

Iran PressIran news:In the final segment of his speech, the Leader said he would like to also "have a few words with our Arab brothers," and proceeded to continue the speech in Arabic.

The Leader described the assassination of Gen. Soleimani and Mahdi al-Muhandis - who was second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) - as "cowardly".

"The Americans, not daring to face Gen. Soleimani in the battlefield, opted to assassinate him along with those accompanying him in the airport in Baghdad," he said.

"Once again, Iraqi and Iranian blood was shed and mixed together in the fields," he said, adding the assassination of Gen. Soleimani had resulted in the failure of foreign-backed plans to sow division between the two countries.

"Much money was spent and irresponsible people were used to promoting malicious sentiment against the Iraqi nation in Iran and against the Iranian nation in Iraq."

Ayatollah Khamenei also said Washington's goal in Iraq is to incite a civil war and ultimately partition the country and eradicate its resistance forces.

Foreign-backed conflict and instability in countries such as Syria and Lebanon are also part of the "enemy's sedition" which has targeted Iraq, he said.

Resisting the enemy and not fearing it, the Leader said, is "the sole path" that can lead to the liberation of these nations.

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