Saudi Arabia 'sold its soul to America,' says Iran's General Qassem Soleiman

Iran's general Qassem Soleimani has lashed out at his country's arch-rival Sunni Saudi Arabia, saying it has sold itself to America.

Speaking at a ceremony commemorating the 39th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in his hometown of Kerman on Sunday, Soleimani said Saudi Arabia and its allies "have sold everything they have to America".

"Ponder the state of the country that called itself the mother of all villages selling themselves cheaply," he added.

The shadowy commander of the Qods Force, Iran's equivalent of the Foreign Legion, oversees Tehran's proxy wars from Yemen and Iraq to Syria and Lebanon.

Soleimani claimed his country has achieved victory in the region, saying Iran has helped Iraq "uproot the Baath... and defeat the Islamic State... as vouched for even by enemies."

Iranians on Sunday marked the 39th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, just weeks after anti-government protests rocked cities across the country.

Demonstrators in Tehran on Sunday chanted traditional slogans against the United States and Israel. Hundreds of thousands converged on the city's central Azadi Square, where President Hassan Rouhani later addressed the crowds.

Abroad, Iran has successfully helped push back the Islamic State group in Iraq and assisted embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in regaining strategic ground in his country's long war.

At home, however, the country's economy still struggles despite its 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers.

In late December and early January, protests across the country began over the economy. They later changed into demonstrations directly challenging the government.

Soleimani's Revolutionary Guards were instrumental in putting down the brief protest movement, which authorities claimed was the work of "foreign agents", with thousands arrested and several killed.