“Martyr Soleimani has the biggest and most important role in the formation of the Popular Mobilization Forces,” Nasr al-Shammari said in an Interview with Ettela’at Newspaper.

“He went to the offices of the Shia religious authorities (sources of emulation) in Iraq and explained the dangers that threatened the country after the fall of Mosul, especially the great threats that surrounded Baghdad and the holy shrines in Najaf and Karbala and promised that if a fatwa calling for jihad was issued by the religious authorities, he would provide any necessary support and this was actually achieved,” al-Shammari added.

According to the Media and Relations Office of Al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance in Iran, the full text of this conversation is as follows:

Q: What was the role of Hajj Qassem Soleimani in the formation and operation of the Popular Mobilization Forces and especially in the formation of the al-Nujaba movement?

A: Martyr Soleimani has the biggest and most important role in the formation of the Popular Mobilization Forces. He went to the offices of the Shia religious authorities (sources of emulation) in Iraq and explained the dangers that threatened the country after the fall of Mosul, especially the great threats that surrounded Baghdad and the holy shrines in Najaf and Karbala and promised that if a fatwa calling for jihad was issued by the religious authorities, he would provide any necessary support and this was actually achieved.

Earlier, on the first night of the fall of Mosul, Haj Qassem came to Iraq and delivered weapons and ammunition to Iraq within six hours, while the Americans asked for a six-year time limit (until the end of 2020) to deliver the weapons that Iraq had paid for!

By the order of Imam Khamenei, Major General Soleimani opened the weapons warehouses of the army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the Iraqi people and I saw this with my own eyes.

When weapons and ammunition had not reached us during the difficult stages, the brothers of the IRGC themselves directly provided us with the weapons we needed because they insisted on security.

Islamic Resistance groups also called on Haj Qassem to set up training camps in various Iraqi governorates to train a large number of volunteers who had responded to the call of the religious authorities.

He pledged to provide all the necessities of these barracks and sent the military advisers of the IRGC and Hezbollah to Iraq. They also took part in all the operations and many of them were martyred in Iraq and their blood was mixed with the blood of their Iraqi brothers.

As for the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance movement, in fact, Martyr Soleimani, along with Hujjat al-Islam Akram al-Kaabi, founded this movement.

Al-Nujaba first started their activities in Syria and then in Iraq, before issuing the jihad al-kifai (collective jihad) fatwa, to defend the holy places and other cities against the terrorists.

Major General Soleimani especially supported this movement and with special attention, continuously supervised the training and equipping of our forces. This caused the al-Nujaba movement to progress rapidly and to mark these blessed victories.

Q: Now that Daesh, thanks to God and the efforts of the Iraqi fighters, has lost its operational capability in Iraq, what method will the al-Nujaba movement adopt to manage its affairs?

A: After the defeat and loss of all areas under its control, the Daesh terrorist group has resumed its underground activities and is trying to carry out precise and low-force operations to challenge the security situation and spread chaos.

This led us to cooperate with the Iraqi intelligence-security forces and to take the last -page of this terrorist group out of their hands by carrying out pre-emptive operations.

At the same time, we are working against the United States’ occupation and domination in various social, cultural and military fields in order to implement the will of the Iraqi people and parliament to expel foreign forces from our country.

Al-Nujaba may be considered the most powerful Iraqi Islamic Resistance movement, which also has the ability to conduct cross-border operations. Please explain the movement’s operations outside Iraq.

The al-Nujaba movement is part of the Islamic Resistance Axis, which considers confronting the occupiers and the arrogant powers as an obligatory legal and morally-human duty. Wherever there is oppression and arrogance, God has provided an opportunity for this movement to stand against it.

Perhaps the most obvious activity of the forces of al-Nujaba is their participation in the defence of the holy shrines of Syria and the liberation of many cities and villages of that country from the clutches of the terrorists with the cooperation of the Syrian army and other Islamic Resistance groups.

The movement has other activities that have remained secret so far but the forces of al-Nujaba are always ready to be present in any place that angers the arrogant powers and disrupts their plans.

Q: What measures has the al-Nujaba movement adopted to create unity in the Islamic Resistance Front?

A: We did not just feel that we were part of the Islamic Resistance Axis or that we were connected and coordinated with its various circles, rather, we have been in active contact with all groups on this axis and have declared our full readiness to be present on every front, from Syria to Lebanon, Yemen, Occupied Palestine, Iraq and Iran.

We are ready to face any challenge or threat from the enemies and emphasize that our communication and coordination with all Islamic Resistance groups is at the highest level.

Q: What is the view of al-Nujaba regarding the recent developments in the last days of the Trump administration and the suspicious attacks on the diplomatic areas of Baghdad?

A: With a crazy and criminal figure like Trump at the helm of the United States, there is every possibility, especially after his defeat in the presidential election, he continues to insist on staying in power.

He tries to cover up his defeat or create a coup d’état against the election results in his country by creating crises here and there. Therefore, it is not unlikely that he will resort to various methods to achieve his goals.

Of course, the anger of the Iraqi people against the American forces cannot be ignored – the anger that causes many children of the Iraqi people to use whatever weapon they can to confront the savage occupiers.

Q: Is there a clear prospect for the Iraqi Islamic Resistance with the arrival of the President-elect of the United States’ Joe Biden on the one hand and the continuation of the government of the Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa al-Kadhimi on the other?

A: I say clearly and firmly that the Iraqi Islamic Resistance has never relied on anyone but God Almighty and His promise of assistance and has always believed in the legitimacy of its goal and the path of its struggle.

In our opinion, Biden’s arrival is nothing but changing the photo frame and leaving that ugly face.

It is very likely that Biden will try to retouch the ugly face of the United States, which has become uglier during the presidency of the criminal Trump.

If Biden comes or Trump stays and the current Iraqi government survives or changes, the decision of the Islamic Resistance is clear. This is the same decision that the Iraqi people announced in their millions of demonstrations and the parliament voted by a majority for the law to expel foreign troops from Iraq.

This will, God-willing, will soon be realized through the power of faith, weapons and the attacks by the Islamic Resistance.

Q: Tell us about Haj Qasem’s relationship with Hujjat al-Islam Akram al-Kaabi.

A: The relationship between the martyr Haj Qassem Soleimani and the secretary-general of al-Nujaba, Hujjat al-Islam Akram al-Kaabi, dates back to the United States’ occupation of Iraq in 2003 and the formation of the Iraqi Islamic Resistance. At that time, Martyr Soleimani did not withhold any support.

Many brothers, including myself, have witnessed the depth of the relationship, the love, the mutual respect, and the true love between them. Haj Qassem was very humble and in all respects had a fragrant relationship with the original Islamic and Muhammadan ethics with the secretary-general of al-Nujaba.

Major General Soleimani paid special attention to the fact that he prioritized Hujjat al-Islam al-Kaabi in prayer, giving a speech or entering and leaving and insisted on his presence in most of the meetings.

The martyred commander emphasized that the forces of the al-Nujaba movement were present in all operations, even in cases where the movement had a mission in a specific area and was active in several axes at the same time.