Qassem Soleimani Assails Israel, Commemorates Mughniyeh

A top Iranian general has lashed out at Israel during a commemoration for a top Hizbullah figure killed in a 2008 Damascus car bombing that the group blamed on Israel.

Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's Quds Force, pledged retaliation for Imad Mughniyeh, Hizbullah's ex-military chief who was considered one of the world's most-wanted "terrorists" by Israel and the United States.

Soleimani said the appropriate revenge for Mughniyeh's slaying is "not launching one missile or killing one person, but the dismantling and uprooting of the baby-killing Zionist regime."

Iranian leaders have long called for destruction of Israel. In 2015, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel would become extinct in 25 years.

Iran does not recognize Israel and supports anti-Israeli armed groups such as Lebanon's Hizbullah and the Palestinian Hamas group.