<p>The US killing of top general Qassem Soleimani will not deter Iranian resistance, a senior commander said on Friday as tensions mounted in the build-up to the first anniversary of the drone strike.</p>.<p>The United States killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, in Iraq on Jan. 3, 2020. Washington had accused him of masterminding attacks by Iranian-aligned militias on US forces in the region.</p>.<p>Days after the US drone strike, Iran retaliated with a rocket attack on an Iraqi air base where US forces were stationed, and Iranian forces on high alert mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger airliner taking off from Tehran.</p>.<p>Esmail Ghaani who succeeded Soleimani as head the elite Quds force, said on Friday Iran was still ready to respond.</p>.<p>"From inside your own house, there may emerge someone who will retaliate for your crime,” he said at a televised event to mark the anniversary at Tehran University.</p>.<p>“American mischief will not deter the Quds force from carrying on its resistance path,” he added.</p>.<p>Two US B-52 bombers flew over the Middle East on Wednesday in what US officials said was a message of deterrence to Iran ahead of the first anniversary.</p>.<p>On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused US President Donald Trump of attempting to fabricate a pretext to attack Iran, and said Tehran would defend itself forcefully.</p>.<p>Representatives of Iran’s regional allies and movements in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Gaza also spoke at Friday's anniversary event. </p>
<p>The US killing of top general Qassem Soleimani will not deter Iranian resistance, a senior commander said on Friday as tensions mounted in the build-up to the first anniversary of the drone strike.</p>.<p>The United States killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, in Iraq on Jan. 3, 2020. Washington had accused him of masterminding attacks by Iranian-aligned militias on US forces in the region.</p>.<p>Days after the US drone strike, Iran retaliated with a rocket attack on an Iraqi air base where US forces were stationed, and Iranian forces on high alert mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger airliner taking off from Tehran.</p>.<p>Esmail Ghaani who succeeded Soleimani as head the elite Quds force, said on Friday Iran was still ready to respond.</p>.<p>"From inside your own house, there may emerge someone who will retaliate for your crime,” he said at a televised event to mark the anniversary at Tehran University.</p>.<p>“American mischief will not deter the Quds force from carrying on its resistance path,” he added.</p>.<p>Two US B-52 bombers flew over the Middle East on Wednesday in what US officials said was a message of deterrence to Iran ahead of the first anniversary.</p>.<p>On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused US President Donald Trump of attempting to fabricate a pretext to attack Iran, and said Tehran would defend itself forcefully.</p>.<p>Representatives of Iran’s regional allies and movements in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Gaza also spoke at Friday's anniversary event. </p>