Qasem Soleimani

Sardar Qasem Soleimani
Soleimani with theOrder of Zolfagharin 2019
Native name	قاسم سلیمانی
Nickname(s)	Haj'Qassem(حاج قاسم) The Shadow Commander(Western)
Born	(1957-03-11)11 March 1957 Qanat-e Malek,Kerman Province,Imperial State of Iran
Died	3 January 2020(2020-01-03)(aged 62) Baghdad Airport Road,Baghdad,Iraq
Cause of death	Assassination by drone strike
Buried	Kerman Martyrs Cemetery,Kerman,Iran 30.291984°N 57.128931°E/30.291984; 57.128931
Allegiance	Islamic Republic of Iran
Service/ branch	Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Years of service	1979–2020
Rank	Major General Lieutenant General
Commands	41st Tharallah Division of Kerman Quds Force
Battles / wars	See list 1979 Kurdish Rebellion Iran–Iraq War Operation Tariq-ol-Qods(WIA) Operation Fath-ol-Mobin Operation Beit-ol-Moqaddas Second Battle of Khorramshahr Operation Ramadan Operation Before the Dawn Operation Dawn Operation Dawn 3 Operation Dawn 4 Operation Dawn 5 Operation Dawn 6 Battle of the Marshes Operation Kheibar Operation Badr First Battle of al-Faw Operation Dawn 8 Operation Karbala 1 Operation Karbala 4 Operation Karbala 5 Operation Karbala 6 Operation Karbala 10 Operation Dawn 10 Second Battle of al-Faw Operation Mersad KDPI Insurgency South Lebanon conflict War in Afghanistan American invasion of Afghanistan 2001 Herat uprising 2006 Lebanon War Iraq War Karbala provincial headquarters raid Iran–Israel proxy conflict Gaza–Israel conflict Syrian Civil War Battle of al-Qusayr Southern Syria offensive Battle of Zabadani Northwestern Syria offensive Latakia offensive Kuweires offensive Battle of Aleppo Southern Aleppo offensive Special forces operation to rescue Russian pilot East Aleppo offensive Northern Aleppo offensive Encirclement of Aleppo Aleppo offensive Hama offensive Syrian Desert campaign Eastern Syria campaign 2017 Abu Kamal offensive War in Iraq (2013–2017) Siege of Amirli Liberation of Jurf Al Sakhar Battle of Baiji Battle of Tikrit Siege of Fallujah Operation Breaking Terrorism 2019–20 Persian Gulf Crisis 2020 Baghdad International Airport airstrike†
Awards	Order of Zolfaghar(1) Order of Fath(3)
Children	6, includingZeinab Soleimani
Relations	Hashem Safieddine(co-father-in-law)

Qasem Soleimani(Persian:قاسم سلیمانی,romanized:Qâsem Soleymâni;11 March 1957– 3January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC). From 1998 untilhis assassination by the United Statesin 2020, he was the commander of theQuds Force,an IRGC division primarily responsible forextraterritorialandclandestine military operations,and played a key role in theSyrian Civil Warthrough securing Russian intervention.He was described as "the single most powerful operative in the Middle East" and a "genius ofasymmetric warfare."FormerMossaddirectorYossi Cohensaid Soleimani's strategies had "personally tightened a noose around Israel's neck."

In his later years, he was considered by some analysts to be the right-hand man of theSupreme Leader of Iran,Ali Khamenei,and the second-most powerful person inIranbehind Khamenei.

For attacks orchestrated or attempted against American and other targets abroad, Soleimani was personally sanctioned by theUnited Nationsand theEuropean Union,and was designated as aterroristby the United States in 2005.

Soleimani was assassinated bya targeted drone strikeon 3 January 2020 inBaghdad,Iraq.Iranian government officialspublicly mourned Soleimani's deathandlaunched missiles against U.S. military bases in Iraq,wounding 110 American troops.Iranian outlets subsequently represented Soleimani as a national hero.

Early life

Soleimani was born on 11 March 1957,in the village ofQanat-e Malek,Kerman Province.He left school at the age of 13 and moved to the city ofKermanto work on a construction site to help repay his father's agricultural debts.In 1975, he began working as a contractor for the Kerman Water Organization.When not at work, he spent his time withweight trainingin local gyms, or attending the sermons of Hojjat Kamyab, a preacher and aprotégéofAli Khamenei,who according to Soleimani encouraged him to "revolutionary activities".His family is ofLursdescent.

Military career

Soleimani joined the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) in 1979following theIranian Revolution,which saw the overthrow of the Shah andAyatollah Khomeinitake power. Reportedly, his training was minimal, but he advanced rapidly. Early in his career as a guardsman, he helped to prevent aKurdish uprisingin northwestern Iran.

I entered the [Iran–Iraq War] on a fifteen-day mission, and ended up staying until the end... We were all young and wanted to serve the revolution.

— Quoted in Dexter Filkins (30 September 2013), "The Shadow Commander",The New Yorker

On 22 September 1980, whenSaddam Husseinlaunched an invasion of Iran, setting off theIran–Iraq War(1980–1988), Soleimani joined the battlefield serving as the leader of a military company, consisting of men from Kerman whom he assembled and trained.He quickly earned a reputation for bravery,and rose through the ranks because of his role in successful operations to retake the lands Iraq had occupied, and eventually became the commander of the41st Tharallah Divisionwhile still in his 20s, participating in most of the war's battles and major operations. He was mostly stationed at the southern front.He was seriously injured inOperation Tariq-ol-Qods.In a 1990 interview, he mentionedOperation Fath-ol-Mobinas "the best" operation he participated in and "very memorable", due to its difficulties yet positive outcome.He was also engaged in leading and organizingirregular warfaremissions deep inside Iraq by the Ramadan Headquarters.It was at this point that Soleimani established relations withKurdish Iraqileaders and theShiaBadr Organization,both opposed to Saddam Hussein.

On 17 July 1985, Soleimani opposed the IRGC leadership's plan to deploy forces to two islands in westernArvand Rud,on theShatt al-Arab River.

After the war, during the 1990s, he was an IRGC commander in Kerman Province.In this region, which is relatively close toAfghanistan,Afghan-grown opium travels toTurkeyand on to Europe.Soleimani's military experience helped him earn a reputation as a successful fighter against drug trafficking.

During the1999 student protestsin Tehran, Soleimani was one of the IRGC officers who signed a letter to PresidentMohammad Khatamiwarning that if he did not suppress the protests, the military would, and suggesting Khatami would be deposed.According to the former IRGC commander,Mohammad Ali Jafari,Soleimani also intervened in the2009 proteststo "control the insecurity and riots".

Command of Quds Force

Soleimani receiving theOrder of ZolfagharfromAyatollahAli Khamenei

One type ofparadisethat is portrayed for mankind is streams, beautiful nymphs and greeneries. But there is another kind of paradise.... The warfront was the lost paradise of the human beings, indeed.

— Soleimani in a 2009 interview. Quoted byDexter Filkins.

The exact date of his appointment as commander of the IRGC's Quds Force is not clear, but Ali Alfoneh cites it as between 10 September 1997 and 21 March 1998.He was considered one of the possible successors to the post of commander of the IRGC when GeneralYahya Rahim Safavileft this post in 2007. In 2008, he led a group of Iranian investigators looking into the death ofImad Mughniyah.Soleimani helped arrange a ceasefire between the Iraqi Army andMahdi Armyin March 2008.

Following theSeptember 11 attacksin 2001, senior U.S. State Department officialRyan Crockerflew to Geneva to meet with Iranian diplomats who were under the leadership of Soleimani with the purpose of collaborating to destroy theTaliban.This collaboration was instrumental in defining the targets of air bombing operations in Afghanistan and in capturing keyAl-Qaedaoperatives, but ended in January 2002, when PresidentGeorge W. Bushnamed Iran as part of the "Axis of evil"in his State of the Union address.

Soleimani strengthened the relationship between Quds Force andHezbollahupon his appointment, and supported the latter by sending in operatives to retake southern Lebanon.In an interview aired in October 2019, he said he was in Lebanon during the2006 Israel–Hezbollah Warto manage the conflict.

During theIraq War,the Quds Force oversaw the production and mass smuggling into Iraq of improvisedexplosively formed penetrator(EFP) roadside bombs, which, according to American estimates, were used by theIraqi insurgencyto cause 500 deaths and over 21,000 injuries to American soldiers.The Quds Force also planned and orchestrated what is thought to be the "boldest and most sophisticated" commando raid against U.S. troops in Iraq, the January 2007Karbala provincial headquarters raid,and played a coordinating role in Hezbollah's defense fromIsraelin the2006 Lebanon War,where Soleimani was personally involved.

Soleimani was described by an ex-CIA operative,responsible for clandestine operations, as "the single most powerful operative in the Middle East today" and the principal military strategist and tactician in Iran's effort to deter Western influence and promote the expansion ofShiaand Iranian influence throughout the Middle East.According to GeneralDavid Petraeus,who served as the US commander of theMulti-National Force in Iraq,Soleimani claimed in 2008 that he was personally responsible for the policy of Iran when it came to IRGC operations in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, southern Lebanon and inGaza.In Iraq, as the commander of the Quds Force, he was believed to have strongly influenced the organization of the Iraqi government, notably supporting the election of previous Iraqi Prime MinisterNuri Al-Maliki.

In 2009,The Economiststated on the basis of a leaked report thatChristopher R. Hilland GeneralRaymond T. Odierno(America's two most senior officials in Baghdad at the time) met with Soleimani in the office of Iraq's president,Jalal Talabani,but withdrew the story after Hill and Odierno denied the meeting had occurred.

On 24 January 2011, Soleimani was promoted toMajor General(Sarlaskar) bySupreme LeaderAli Khamenei.Khamenei was described as having a close relationship with him, calling Soleimani a "living martyr" and helping him financially.

A report issued in late January 2020 by government factions close to the IRGC and published byFars News Agencyreveals some of Quds force's infiltration under the command of Qasem Soleimani in other countries. The 1992–95Bosnian Waris brought as an example.

U.S. invasion of Afghanistan

In 1998, Soleimani played a role in diffusing the crisis between Iran and theTaliban-ruledIslamic Emirate of Afghanistancaused by the 8 August1998 killing of Iranian diplomats in Afghanistanand the1998 Mazar-i-Sharif massacreofHazaraShias by the Taliban. While the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,Yahya Rahim Safavi,advocated for an Iranian invasion of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban regime, Soleimani convinced Supreme LeaderAli Khameneithat a policy of "strategic patience" would be more fruitful. Soleimani instead tripled Iranian support for the anti-TalibanNorthern Allianceand his Quds Force ran a secret training camp inTajikistanfor its fighters.

Whenthe United States invaded Afghanistanin October 2001 after theSeptember 11 attacks,Soleimani's Quds Force collaborated with the U.S. and led the2001 uprising in Heratagainst the Taliban, which included the Hazaras, Northern Alliance and Quds Force staging an uprising that liberated the city before U.S. forces came in.

Second Intifada and Gaza tunnels

A letter toMohammed Deif

DefendingPalestineis an honor for the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iran will not renounce and give up its duty for the benefit of the world. Palestinians are our friends and enemies of Palestine are our enemies and this is and will be our policy.

The Quds Force had cultivated relations withHamasand thePalestinian Islamic Jihadsince the 1990s under the leadership of Soleimani's predecessor, Brigadier-GeneralAhmad Vahidi,and the 1995Kfar Darom bus attack.Soleimani strengthened these relations during theSecond Intifada,when he andHezbollahchief of military operationsImad Mughniyehoversaw the smuggling of weapons to the PalestinianHamasandIslamic Jihadfactions, according to Lebanese militantAnis al-Naqqash.

After the 2007 imposition of ablockade on the Gaza Stripby Israel and Egypt, Soleimani's Quds Force has been active in supporting the further construction of tunnels under Gaza and the smuggling of weapons through these tunnels to the armed wings ofHamasand thePalestinian Islamic Jihad.In 2021 senior Hamas representative toLebanon,Ahmad Abd al-Hadi said:

The idea of [digging] tunnels... Today there are 360 kilometers of tunnels in Gaza. There are more than 360 kilometers of tunnels underground. I won't go into details on this. Two people came up with the idea of digging these tunnels: The first is the martyred commanderImad Mughniyeh,and the second is Hajj Qasem Soleimani who went to Gaza more than once and contributed to the defense plan from the moment it was first drafted. I am not divulging any secret, by the way. The enemies know all this but what the enemies do not know is way more than what they do know.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General CommandSecretary-GeneralTalal Najialso said in a 2021 interview:

TheIslamic Republic of Iranhas made a great contribution and invested a lot of effort in developing the military capabilities of the Palestinian resistance through training, developing weapons, and teaching our comrades among the Palestinian people in Gaza and theWest Bankhow to manufacture weapons and rockets. As you know, there are difficulties in transporting these weapons and rockets to occupied Palestine. Even in transporting weapons, Iran made an effort to support us in transporting weapons by way of sea, as you know. Let me tell you about what I heard from General Qasem Soleimani, may he rest in peace. He said: 'We sent ten ships full of weapons.' Most people probably do not know about these ships. Most people know about one ship, calledKarine A,which was raided by the Zionist enemy in the Red Sea. By the way, the Karine A was sent to the martyrYasser Arafat,to the brothers in theFatahmovement – not toHamas,theIslamic Jihad,thePFLP-GC,thePFLP…No. It was sent to Fatah. Ten ships were sent to the various factions of the Palestinian resistance in Palestine. This was in the beginning, when we were transporting weapons. The martyrJihad Jibril– the son of Abu Jihad,Ahmad Jibril– was assassinated by Zionist gangs inBeirut.His car was blown up on May 20th, 2002. They killed him because he was in charge of transporting weapons from Lebanon to Gaza. He sent three ships from Lebanon to the Gaza coast, far out at sea. The weapons were thrown from the ships in tightly-sealed barrels. We coordinated with the brothers inHamas.The martyr Jihad Jibril asked them to send divers and small boats in order to retrieve the barrels from the sea and bring them to the coast, and we used to split the weapons, and even give most of the weapons to them, because of their [relative] size and their responsibility. He used to give them most of the weapons and we took some of them. This was in the beginning. Then, at a later stage, under the supervision of the martyr Qasem Soleimani, [it was decided] that our people who waged resistance in Gaza should be able to manufacture weapons, and even develop rockets. At first, it was very short-range rockets. They used to have a range of 2 kms. The weight of the payload was very limited, and thus its impact was minor. If a rocket has a 2 km range, and its payload is small, then the impact is weak. General Qassem Soleimani supervised the development of these rockets, in cooperation with the brothers in Syria. Sometimes the training took place in the Islamic Republic of Iran, sometimes in Syria, and sometimes in Lebanon, with the brothers inHezbollahwho are wagingjihad.As you know, we are an axis – theAxis of Resistance.Soleimani used to supervise these activities himself. He used to supervise these things himself, as you know. This has been disclosed by the beloved brotherHassan Nasrallah– how Nasrallah and Soleimani discussed the necessity to send quality weapons to the resistance fighters in the Gaza Strip. General Qassem Soleimani was the one who planned the delivery of theKornet– the famous Russian missile that is used against tanks and heavy APCs. Kornet missiles were sent to the Gaza Strip and the Zionist enemy was surprised by this, when its tanks were destroyed. They have a tank that they are proud of, they consider it to be the pride of the Israeli arms industry – theMerkava.Merkava tanks were destroyedin 2009.This bore the hallmarks of General Qasem Soleimani, may he rest in peace.

Hamas political leaderIsmail Haniyehhas disclosed the fact that Soleimani was present at thePalestinian Joint Operations RoominDamascus,Syria, throughout January 2009, overseeing operations against theIsraeli Armyduring the2008-2009 Gaza War.

Assistance to the Iraqi insurgency

Speech on the 40th anniversary of theIranian Revolution,February 2019

Thehadithsays that if someone has not participated injihadand dies, he will die as ahypocrite.Jihad may not be available to everyone but man must keep this feeling alive in his being. In one of the supplications, we addressImam Hussainand say we wish we were inKarbalaand helped you. By making such a statement we really preserve this truth in our being. Brothers, Jihad is very important. It is the quality that polishes the human soul.

While Iran actively supported the U.S. effort on the ground in Afghanistan in the closing months of 2001, in his January2002 State of the Union AddressPresidentGeorge W. Bushsingled out the country as part of an "axis of evil"along withSaddam Hussein's Iraq (Iran's longtime enemy) and North Korea. After the U.S.invaded and occupied Iraqin April 2003, the Quds Force under Soleimani supplied insurgents with weapons, most notablyexplosively formed penetrators(EFPs) or roadside bombs, used to devastating effect against coalition forces andBlackwatermercenaries, as in the2004 Fallujah ambushand2004 Good Friday ambush.The Quds Force also helped in the creation and arming of Shia militias such as theMahdi Army,Kata'ib HezbollahandAsa'ib Ahl al-Haq.

On 11 January 2007, the United Statesraidedthe Iranian Liaison Office in Erbil, Iraq, based on false intelligence that IRGC Commander-in-ChiefMohammad Ali Jafariand Soleimani were there. Nine days later, on 20 January,Qais al-Khazali's Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq militia, with the help of Quds Force Brigadier GeneralAbdolreza Shahlaeiand Hezbollah operativeAli Musa Daqduq,infiltratedthe U.S. Army's Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Headquarters and killed five American soldiers, in what has been called the most daring and sophisticated insurgent operation of theIraq War.On the same day, 13 American soldiers died in a helicopter crash and seven others were killed by other insurgents throughout Iraq, making it the third worst day for U.S. troops during the entire war.

2006 Lebanon War

October 2019 interview, describing Hezbollah's strike on theINS Hanitduring the2006 Lebanon War

Every time during a war, the frigates of the Zionist regime would set on the ocean and block the road from the sea using precise artillery. During this war, they did the same during the first week. What the enemy had not imagined, and Hezbollah surprised them with it was thesurface to sea missiles.These missiles were to be tested for the first time on that day. Previously all those missiles were concealed and they had not been tested before. The missiles were all hidden. It was a difficult operation. The missile had to exit a hidden shelter and be transferred with a vehicle it was loaded on to a launching site which was a plain open site, while 3 or 4 Israeli frigates were waiting in front of them. This was planned to be done when SayyidHassan Nasrallahwas to deliver a speech. Because there were rumors that Sayyid Hassan had been injured and this had concerned the Lebanese public. Sayyid had made an agreement withImad Mughniyehto deliver a speech. Sayyid was to speak. During that week, the enemy had an upper hand while we had not done anything significant apart from the missiles response. This had to be done. The missile was loaded onto its launcher and was ready to fire several times, and each time there was a problem with the launching. Sayyid wanted to announce the strike on the enemy ship in his speech as a surprise move, and an important surprising operation. He gave his speech. Sayyid was supposed to speak in a room, and we were sitting in an adjacent room with Imad and another brother. Sayyid’s speech was coming to an end, but the missle wouldn’t be launched. The battle was raging. Once Sayyid wanted to say the finalSalam Alaykom wa Rahmatollah,when he reached this point, right before pronouncing these words, the missile was launched. The missile wassupersonicand it hit the frigate at once. When he finished, as if inspired from the world beyond and seeing the scene, he said "you can see now in front of you the Israeli frigate burning." This rhetoric by Sayyid coincided with the missile hitting the target. Although those warships haveelectronic warfaresystems and can deviate incoming missiles, or can hit them with anti-missile systems, the missile hit the target and cut it in half. This marked getting rid of theNavy of the Zionist regime;the force was never seen again until the end of the war. With a single missile, the whole Navy of the Zionist regime was knocked out. This can, of course, be analyzed and discussed in length. That is, it can be understood that a regime whose Navy is neutralized with a single missile, no matter how many frigates it has, would be completely neutralized with two or three missiles next time. That time it happened at a range of 100 Km. Next time it may be with a 300 Km range missile.

Hezbollah Secretary-GeneralHassan Nasrallahhas said that Soleimani was instrumental in upgradingHezbollah's military capabilitiessince he became head of the Quds Force in 1998 and helping transform Hezbollah into a fighting force capable of not only resisting but also deterring Israel.

On 12 July 2006, Hezbollah, under the operational command ofImad MughniyehandKhalid Bazzi,launched across-border raidinto Israel, killing three IDF soldiers and taking two hostages. Israel responded byinvading Lebanon.Soleimani on that day was in Damascus, but went to Beirut under intense Israeli bombing and throughout the course of the war stayed inDahiehalongside Hezbollah's Secretary-GeneralHassan Nasrallahand military chiefImad Mughniyeh,forming a three-man command to supervise all of Hezbollah's operations during the war.

From the end of the 2006 war, Soleimani scrupulously worked on refurbishing Hezbollah’s missile force to make it a strike force that would deter Israel from attackingIran’s nuclear facilities.Soleimani invested great resources in filling Hezbollah’s missile stocks. After 2006, Soleimani expended most of his efforts in converting a large part of the Hezbollah missiles into precision missiles. To that end, Soleimani built an operational, technological infrastructure in Syria from which he transferred missiles to Lebanon in convoys. When the missiles’ routes between Syria and Lebanon were uncovered, the Quds commander decided to build precision-targeting factories for Hezbollah in Lebanon. At first, the secret facilities were in the Beirut area, but when Israel discovered them, they were moved to theBaalbekregion.

Al-Qaeda

Speech on the 40th anniversary of theIranian Revolution,February 2019

WahhabismisAmerican Islamwith Jewish roots.

According to some sources Soleimani authorized the 12 May 2003Riyadh compound bombingstargeting Saudi and American interests in Riyadh, carried out by anal-Qaedacell allegedly operating from Iran with the approval of the Quds Force.Saif al-AdelandSaad bin Ladenwere implicated in the attacks.According to Seth G. Jones, the bombings were planned by al Qaeda in Iran, with apparent Iranian complicity.

In May 2003, then-State Department officialRyan Crockerprovided information on the upcoming attack to Iranian officials, who apparently took no action.However, according to an interrogation of former al-Qaeda spokesmanSulaiman Abu Ghaith,al-Adel and Saad were being held prisoner inIranwhen the attacks took place.Saad was killed in a drone strike inPakistanin 2009.

Activities against the CIA

Soleimani was our adversary, and a very, very capable one.

— GeneralDavid Petraeus,former Director of theCIA.

According to theUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia(caseBernhardt v. Islamic Republic of Iran), Soleimani's Quds Force had provided "sanctuary and mobility" inside Iran toAtiyah Abd al-Rahman,the man who recruitedHumam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi,who in 2009 infiltrated the CIA posing as aJordanian intelligenceliaison anddetonated a suicide vestinside the Agency'sForward Operating Base Chapmanin Afghanistan, killing seven high-ranking CIA officers.After the attack, the families of the victims suedIran,and won a judgement of $268,553,684 on March 22, 2023.However, it is unlikely that the victims will receive any compensation, as theUS Department of Statenoted in the case that "The United States does not maintain diplomatic relations with the government of Iran."William Saletannoted the mischaracterization of the attack as "an act ofterrorism"in many media reports. As terrorism targets civilians, and the CIA employees were conducting a war, he states that the bombing was clearly" an act of war. It was also espionage. But it wasn't terrorism. "

Syrian Civil War

See also:Syrian Civil WarandIranian involvement in the Syrian civil war

We're not like the Americans. We don't abandon our friends.

— Attributed to Soleimani by a former Iraqi leader, referring to Syria. Quoted byDexter Filkins.

Map of Al-Qusayr and its environs. TheAl-Qusayr offensivewas reportedly orchestrated by Soleimani.

According to several sources, includingRiad Hijab,a former Syrian premier who deserted in August 2012, Soleimani was one of the strongest supporters of the Syrian government ofBashar al-Assadin theSyrian Civil War.Soleimani was involved in planning and carrying out the Siege of Baba Amr during theSiege of Homssince 2011, according to the Syrian Minister of Defense,Ali Abdullah Ayyoub.In the later half of 2012, Soleimani assumed personal control of the Iranian intervention in the Syrian Civil War, when the Iranians became deeply concerned about the Assad government's inability to fight the opposition, and the negative consequences to the Islamic Republic if the Syrian government fell. He reportedly coordinated the war from a base inDamascusat which a LebaneseHezbollahcommander and an Iraqi Shia militia coordinator were mobilized, in addition to Syrian and Iranian officers. Under Soleimani, the command "coordinated attacks, trained militias, and set up an elaborate system to monitor rebel communications". According to a Middle Eastern security official Dexter Filkins talked to, thousands of Quds Force and Iraqi Shia militiamen in Syria were "spread out across the entire country".Theretaking of Qusayrin May 2013 from rebel forces andAl-Nusra Frontwas, according to John Maguire, a formerCIAofficer in Iraq, "orchestrated" by Soleimani.

Brigadier GeneralHossein Hamadani,theBasij's former deputy commander, helped to run irregular militias that Soleimani hoped would continue the fight if Assad fell.Soleimani helped establish theNational Defence Forces(NDF) in 2013 which would formalize the coalition of pro-Assad groups.

Soleimani was much credited in Syria for the strategy that assisted President Bashar al-Assad in finally repulsing rebel forces and recapturing key cities and towns.He was involved in the training of government-allied militias and the coordination of decisive military offensives.The sighting of IranianUAVsin Syria strongly suggested that his command, the Quds Force, was involved in the civil war.

In a visit to the Lebanese capital Beirut on 29 January 2015, Soleimani laid wreaths at the graves of the slain Hezbollah members, includingJihad Mughniyah,which strengthened suspicions about a collaboration between Hezbollah and the Quds Force.

Orchestration of military coalition in 2015

See also:Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition

In 2015, Soleimani began gathering support from various sources to combat the newly resurgentIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant(ISIL) and rebel groups which had both successfully taken large swaths of territory from Assad's forces. He was reportedly the main architect of the joint intervention involving Russia as a new partner with Assad and Hezbollah.

According toReuters,at a meeting in Moscow in July, Soleimani unfurled a map of Syria to explain to his Russian hosts how a series of defeats for President Bashar al-Assad could be turned into victory—with Russia's help. Soleimani's visit to Moscow was the first step in planning for theRussian military interventionthat has reshaped the Syrian war and forged a newIran–Russia alliancein support of the Syrian (and Iraqi) governments. Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, also sent a senior envoy to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin. "Putin reportedly told [a senior Iranian envoy] 'Okay we will intervene. Send Qassem Soleimani.'" Soleimani went to explain the map of the theatre and coordinate the strategic escalation of military forces in Syria.

Operations in Aleppo

Map of the 2015 Aleppo offensives

Main article:Aleppo offensive (October–December 2015)

Soleimani had a decisive impact on the theater of operations, which led to a strong advance in southern Aleppo with the government and allied forces re-capturing two military bases and dozens of towns and villages in a matter of weeks. There was also a series of majoradvances towards Kuweiris air-baseto the north-east.By mid-November, the Syrian army and its allies had gained ground in southern areas of Aleppo Governorate, capturing numerous rebel strongholds. Soleimani was reported to have personally led the drive deep into the southern Aleppo countryside where many towns and villages fell into government hands. He reportedly commanded the Syrian Arab Army's 4th Mechanized Division, Hezbollah, Harakat Al-Nujaba (Iraqi), Kata'ib Hezbollah (Iraqi), Liwaa Abu Fadl Al-Abbas (Iraqi), and Firqa Fatayyemoun (Afghan/Iranian volunteers).

In early February 2016, backed by Russian and Syrian air force airstrikes, the 4th Mechanized Division—in close coordination with Hezbollah, the National Defense Forces (NDF), Kata'eb Hezbollah, and Harakat Al-Nujaba—launchedan offensivein Aleppo Governorate's northern countryside,which eventually broke the three-yearsiege of Nubl and Al-Zahraaand cut off the rebels' main supply route from Turkey. According to a senior, non-Syrian security source close to Damascus, Iranian fighters played a crucial role in the conflict. "Qassem Soleimani is there in the same area", he said.In December 2016, new photos emerged of Soleimani at theCitadel of Aleppo,though the exact date of the photos is unknown.

In late March 2017, Soleimani was seen in the northernHama Governoratecountryside in Syria, reportedly aiding Major GeneralSuheil al-Hassanto repel amajor rebel offensive.

War against ISIL in Iraq

See also:War in Iraq (2013–2017)andIranian intervention in Iraq (2014–present)

A map ofSaladin Governoratein Iraq. Soleimani was involved in breaking theSiege of Amirliby ISIL in the eastern part of the governorate.

Soleimani had a significant role in Iran's fight against ISIL in Iraq. He was described as the "linchpin" bringing together Kurdish and Shia forces to fight ISIS, overseeing joint operations conducted by the two groups.

In 2014, Soleimani was in the Iraqi city ofAmirli,to work with Iraqi forces to push back ISIL militants.TheLos Angeles Timesreported that Amirli was the first town to successfully withstand an ISIL invasion, and was secured thanks to "an unusual partnership of Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers, Iranian-backed Shia militias and U.S. warplanes".

A senior Iraqi official told the BBC that when the city ofMosulfell, the rapid reaction of Iran, rather than American bombing, was what prevented a more widespread collapse.Soleimani also seems to have been instrumental in planning the operation to relieve Amirli in Saladin Governorate, where ISIL had laid siege to an important city.In fact, the Quds force operatives under Soleimani's command seem to have been deeply involved not only with the Iraqi army and Shia militias but also with the Kurdish forces in the Battle of Amirli,providing liaisons for intelligence-sharing along with arms, munitions and expertise.

In theoperation to liberate Jurf Al Sakhar,he was reportedly "present on the battlefield". Some Shia militia commanders described Soleimani as "fearless", one pointing out that the Iranian general never wears aflak jacketeven on the front lines.

In November 2014, Shia and Kurdish forces under Soleimani's command pushed ISIL out of the Iraqi villages ofJalawlaand Saadia in theDiyala Governorate.

Soleimani praying in theSyrian desertin 2017

Soleimani played an integral role in the organization and planning of the crucial operation toretake the city of Tikritin Iraq from ISIL. The city of Tikrit rests on the left bank of theTigrisriver and is the largest and most important city between Baghdad and Mosul, giving it a high strategic value. The city fell to ISIL during 2014 when ISIL made immense gains in northern and central Iraq. After its capture, ISIL'smassacre at Camp Speicherled to 1,600 to 1,700 deaths of Iraqi Army cadets and soldiers. After months of careful preparation and intelligence gathering an offensive to encircle and capture Tikrit was launched in early March 2015.

In 2016, photos published by a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) source showed Soleimani attending a meeting of PMF commanders in Iraq to discuss theBattle of Fallujah.

CIA chiefMike Pompeosaid he sent Soleimani and other Iranian leaders a letter holding them responsible for any attacks on U.S. interests by forces under their control. According toMohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani,a senior aide for Iran's supreme leader, Soleimani ignored the letter when it was handed over to him during theAbu Kamal offensiveagainst ISIL, saying "I will not take your letter nor read it and I have nothing to say to these people."

Political career

Soleimani speaking at International Day of Mosque conference

In 1999, Soleimani, along with other senior IRGC commanders, signed a letter to then-PresidentMohammad Khatamiregarding thestudent protests in July.They wrote "Dear Mr. Khatami, how long do we have to shed tears, sorrow over the events, practice democracy by chaos and insults, and have revolutionary patience at the expense of sabotaging the system? Dear president, if you don't make a revolutionary decision and act according to your Islamic and national missions, tomorrow will be so late and irrecoverable that cannot be even imagined."

Iranian media reported in 2012 that he might be replaced as the commander of Quds Force in order to allow him to run in the2013 presidential election.He reportedly refused to be nominated for the election.According toBBC News,in 2015 a campaign started amongconservativebloggers for Soleimani to stand for2017 presidential election.In 2016, he was speculated as a possible candidate,however in a statement published on 15 September 2016, he called speculations about his candidacy as "divisive reports by the enemies" and said he will "always remain a simple soldier serving Iran and the Islamic Revolution".

In the summer of 2018, Soleimani and Tehran exchanged public remarks with American President Donald Trump related to Red Sea shipping which heightened tensions between the two countries and their allies in the region.

Masoud Barzani,who is the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iraq, claimed Soleimani supported theUS invasion of Iraqas a "great victory" for Iran.

Sanctions

In March 2007, Soleimani was included on a list of Iranian individuals targeted with sanctions inUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 1747.On 18 May 2011, he was sanctioned again by the U.S. along with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and other senior Syrian officials due to his alleged involvement in providing material support to the Syrian government.

In 2007, the U.S. included him in a "Designation of Iranian Entities and Individuals for Proliferation Activities and Support for Terrorism", which forbade U.S. citizens from doing business with him.The list, published in the EU's Official Journal on 24 June 2011, also included a Syrian property firm, an investment fund and two other enterprises accused of funding the Syrian government. The list also included Mohammad Ali Jafari andHossein Taeb.

On 24 June 2011, theOfficial Journal of the European Unionsaid the three Iranian Revolutionary Guard members now subject to sanctions had been "providing equipment and support to help the Syrian government suppress protests in Syria".The Iranians added to the EU sanctions list were two Revolutionary Guard commanders, Soleimani, Mohammad Ali Jafari, and the Guard's deputy commander for intelligence, Hossein Taeb.Soleimani was also sanctioned by theSwiss governmentin September 2011 on the same grounds cited by theEuropean Union.

On 13 November 2018, the U.S. sanctioned an Iraqi military leader named Shibl Muhsin 'Ubayd Al-Zaydi and others who allegedly were acting on Soleimani's behalf in financing military actions in Syria or otherwise providing support for terrorism in the region.

Public image in Iran

July 2018 speech addressing U.S. President Trump

Let me tell you, Mr.Trump,you gambler. Know that we are near you, in places that don't come to your mind. We are near you in places that you can't even imagine. We are a nation of martyrdom. We are the nation ofImam Hussein.Ask around. We have endured many hardships. Come, we are waiting for you. We are the real men on the scene, as far as you are concerned. You know that a war would mean the loss of all your capabilities. You may start the war, but we will be the ones to determine its end. Therefore, you must not offend the Iranian nation. You must not offend ourPresident.

Iranian propaganda

Soleimani cultivated public relations and a personality cult that formed part of his image.

After Soleimani's death, the Iranian propaganda campaign intensified efforts in coordinating positive international public opinion toward him. These efforts included using state-run TV channels and severalsocial mediaaccounts, a large proportion of which had newly been created, and posting images such as heroic, "noble warrior" depictions of Soleimani, appealing to both nationalists and religious conservatives.It is believed by many that these measures have been at least partially successful, arguing that even some American outlets were biased.

Popularity in Iran

According to a poll conducted in collaboration with IranPoll for theUniversity of Maryland School of Public Policy,by October 2019 Soleimani was viewed favorably by 82% of Iranians with 59% of them very favorable toward him.He was often considered the second most powerful person and general in Iran, behind Ayatollah Khamenei.Since the Iran–Iraq War (1980–88), in which Iran was attacked bySaddam Hussein's Iraq and also felt attacked by other countries which sided with Iraq,including the U.S., which supplied weapons and intelligence to Iraq,Soleimani had developed into an architect of Iran's foreign policies in the Middle Eastand a key figure behind Iran's foreign and defence policies.

Following the downing ofFlight 752and theMahsa Protest,his popularity experienced a swift decline as his involvement in the crackdown and killing of protesters in the past decade and other war crimes came to light.Consequently, after his assassination, Iranian opponents began to humorously refer to him as "Kotelt" (a Persian term for "cutlet"), drawing a connection between his smashed and mutilated body after the drone strike and the minced meat used in making cutlets.

Assassination

Main article:Assassination of Qasem Soleimani

Qasem Soleimani (left) withAbu Mahdi al-Muhandisat a 2017 ceremony commemorating the father of Soleimani, in Mosalla, Tehran

Soleimani was assassinated on 3 January 2020 around 1:00a.m. local time (22:00 UTC 2January),by a U.S.drone strikenearBaghdad International Airport.BBC News,NBC News,DW News,Time,The Guardianand other media outlets have said Soleimani was assassinated or described the killing as an assassination.Senior officials of theU.S. Department of Statecompared it toOperation VengeanceinWorld War II,when American pilots shot down the plane carrying Japanese AdmiralIsoroku Yamamoto– a comparison concurred with byThe New York Timesand other prominent media and pundits.

Soleimani was on his way to meet Iraqi Prime MinisterAdil Abdul-Mahdiand had just left his plane, which arrived in Iraq fromLebanonorSyria.Adil Abdul Mahdi said Soleimani was bringing Iran's response to a letter that Iraq had sent out on behalf of Saudi Arabia in order to ease tensions between the two countries in the region. The prime minister did not reveal the message's exact content.Also killed were four members of thePopular Mobilization Forces(PMF), includingAbu Mahdi al-Muhandis,the Iraqi military commander who headed the PMF.Soleimani's body was identified using a ring he wore on his finger.

Soleimani was posthumously promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Generaland praised as a martyr by speaker of the Iranian parliament Ali Larijaniand Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of the IRGC.Soleimani was succeeded byEsmail Ghaanias commander of the Quds Force.

According to theIranian Students News Agencyquoting theIraqi Al-Ahdnetwork, there are diverse narratives concerning the drones which killed Soleimani andAbu-Mahdi al-Muhandis). One mentions American drones taking off from Kuwaiti land and entering Iraq, which the headquarters of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces denied after a few hours. The other is that an American UAV took off from theAl-Adeedbase in Qatar.Also, according toAhmed al-Asadi,a member of theIraqi Parliament:"The drones which carried out the assassination operation, were three American UAVs that took-off from the military-base ofAin al-Assadand flew in the sky of Baghdad for 20 hours on Thursday morning and then came back directly to the "Ain al-Assad" base after carrying out the assassination operation. "According toRadio-Fardaquoting American media, the drones were theMQ-9 Reaper.

U.S. decision-making

CNBC reported that the U.S. had been in pursuit of Soleimani for decades.President Trump had expressed a desire to target Soleimani in a 2017 meeting with then National Security AdviserH. R. McMaster.On 13 January 2020, five senior current and formerTrump administrationofficials told NBC News that Trump had authorized the killing of Soleimani in June 2019 on the basis that he had been involved in the killing of many Americans, a decision backed by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.In making the 2020 strike,the Pentagonfocused on Soleimani's past actions and on deterring future such actions.The strike followedattacks on the American embassy in Baghdadby supporters of an Iran-backedIraqi Shia militiaand the2019 K-1 Air Base attack.Anonymous officials toldThe New York Timesthat Trump had initially decided to strike at the Shia militia, but instead chose the most extreme option proposed (killing Soleimani) after seeing television footage of theattack on the embassy.Thedeath of an Iraqi-American contractor in a rocket attack in December 2019was reportedly also used as justification for the strike,contradicting the Trump administration's claim that Soleimani was targeted because he was plotting "imminent" attacks on Americans and had to be targeted in order to stop these attacks.

TheU.S. Defense Departmentsaid the strike was carried out "at the direction of the President" and asserted that Soleimani had been planning further attacks onAmerican diplomatsand military personnel and had approved the attacks on the American embassy in Baghdad in response toU.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on 29 December 2019,and that the strike was meant to deter future attacks.As part of the administration's changing justification for the strike, a national security adviser asserted that Soleimani had intended further attacks on American diplomats and troops,and Defense SecretaryMark Esperasserted the general had been expected to mastermind an attack within days.President Trump stated in aFox Newsinterview that four embassies, including the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, had been targeted;Secretary of StateMike Pompeo said it was not known where or when the attacks would have taken place.

Legal status of the assassination

The strike was not approved by theU.S. Congressor consented to by the Iraqi government, leading to controversy regarding the legality of killing an Iranian military leader over Iraqi airspace.

An arrest warrant was issued by an Iraqi court forPresident Donald Trumpin connection with the killing of Soleimani. The arrest warrant was for a charge of premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty on conviction.

Under U.S. law

On 14 February 2020, in a legally required unclassified memorandum to Congress,the Trump administration said it was authorized under both the Constitution and the2002 Authorization of Use of Military Force Against Iraq.

However, the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign AffairsEliot Engel(D-NY) said "The 2002 authorization was passed to deal withSaddam Hussein.This law had nothing to do with Iran or Iranian government officials in Iraq. To suggest that 18 years later this authorization could justify killing an Iranian official stretches the law far beyond anything Congress ever intended, "adding that he" looked forward "to Pompeo testifying in a 28 February hearing.

Under international law

The United States, as a member of the United Nations, has ratified theCharter of the United Nationsand, therefore, is bound by its provisions.Agnès Callamard,United Nations Special Rapporteuron extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and Director ofColumbia University's Global Freedom of Expression project, researched the alleged legal basis for the killing of Suleimani advanced by the United States government and stated that the Suleimani's killing could have been justified under international law only if it had been a response to an "imminent threat." However, she said that the United States had provided no evidence to support that contention. "Absent an actual imminent threat to life, the course of action taken by the U.S. was unlawful," Ms. Callamard wrote in a report that she presented in July 2020 to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.The Trump administration's February 2020 memorandum to Congress was "remarkably vague and inconsequential as far as a possible imminent threat is concerned," Ms. Callamard wrote in the report. "Even at the most basic level, the U.S. did not demonstrate that striking Suleimani was 'necessary.'"

Callamard also concluded that the killing sets an alarming precedent—it was the first targeted drone killing of a senior foreign government official on the territory of a third country. The world now faced "the very real prospect that states may opt to 'strategically' eliminate high-ranking military officials outside the context of a 'known' war, and seek to justify the killing on the grounds of the target's classification as a 'terrorist' who posed a potential future threat," Callamard said in her report. Also, she noted that scores of countries and many non-state actors now have operational drones, and that drones kill many non-combatants for every person targeted.

Reaction

Further information:Reactions to the assassination of Qasem Soleimani

According toAgnès Callamard,the UN special rapporteur onextrajudicial killing,"the killings of Qassem Suleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis violates international human rights law". She said the U.S. is required to confirm "the individual targeted constituted an imminent threat to others." Callamard also described the killing of other individuals alongside Soleimani as "unlawful"and other scholars argue it violates international law.Russian Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov,Medea Benjamin(the founder of anti-war advocacy groupCode Pink) and Hillary Mann Leverett (a political risk consultant and former director of Iran affairs at the White House's National Security Council) called the assassination of Soleimani "flatly illegal".

Analysts Ali Vaez andIain Kingand some Twitter users compared the eventto the assassinationofArchduke Franz Ferdinand,and #Ferdinand and #WWIII began trending onTwitterbecause of what BBC News called "obvious parallels [...] a single strike bringing existing tensions to boiling point".Some protesters raised concerns that Iraq could become a site of open clashes between Iran and the U.S. following the assassination of Soleimani in Baghdad and Iran's retaliatory missile attacks on U.S. bases.

Democrats,including top2020 presidential candidates,condemned the killing of Soleimani, arguing that it escalated the conflict with Iran, and risked retaliation or war.

TheIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant(ISIL) praised the killing of Soleimani as a divine intervention, saying it helped jihadists.

UK Foreign SecretaryDominic Raab,however, backed the strike, describing the American action as self-defense.

According to aMeta(then Facebook) spokesperson,Instagramand its parent company Meta (then Facebook) are removing posts "that voice support for slain Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani to comply with U.S. sanctions."

In June 2020, Iran placed an arrest warrant for President Donald Trump, with an Iranian prosecutor saying Trump and 35 others "faced murder and terrorism charges" over the killing of Soleimani.

Iran's Foreign MinisterJavad Zarifsaid in aleaked tapethat "Soleimani's death caused more damage to the country than if the U.S. wiped out an entire city."

Some activists living out of reach of the Iranian authorities, such as Saghar Erica Kasraie,Reza Alijani,andMasih Alinejad,condemned Soleimani.Some Iranians mourning for the dead ofUkraine International Airlines Flight 752less than a week after his death called him a murderer and tore up his pictures during theprotests.BBC reported that "the protests were, however, far smaller than the mass demonstrations across Iran in support of Soleimani".

Ismail Haniyehdescribed Soleimani as "the martyr ofJerusalem"in a speech pronounced in Tehran during his funeral.

Funeral and burial

Main article:Funeral of Qasem Soleimani

Mourners atAzadi Square,Tehran

Soleimani's grave. He had asked for a simple gravestone "similar to [his]shahidcomrades "and without any honorific title inscribed along his name.

On 4 January, a funeral procession for Soleimani was held in Baghdad with thousands of mourners in attendance, waving Iraqi and militia flagsand chanting "death to America, death to Israel".The procession started at theAl-Kadhimiya Mosquein Baghdad. Iraq's prime minister,Adil Abdul-Mahdi,and leaders of Iran-backed militias attended the funeral procession.Soleimani's remains were taken to the holy Shia cities ofKarbalaandNajaf.On 5 January, the remains of the bodies arrived inAhvaz,and thenMashhad.Tens of thousands of mourners in black clothes attended the funeral procession with green, white, and red flags.Muqtada al-Sadrpaid a visit to Soleimani's house to express his condolence to his family.

On 6 January, the body of Soleimani and other casualties arrived at the Iranian capitalTehran.Huge crowds, reportedly hundreds of thousands or millions, packed the streets. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who had a close relationship with Soleimani, led the traditional Islamicprayer for the dead,weeping at one point in front of the flag-draped coffins.Ali Khamenei mourned openly near the coffin while the general's successor swore revenge.Esmail Qaani,who was named commander of theQuds Forcehours after Soleimani's killing, said: "God the Almighty has promised to get his revenge, and God is the main avenger."Iranian foreign ministerMohammad Javad Zarifasked if Trump had ever seen "such a sea of humanity".He was given a multi-city funeral, and his funeral procession was said to be the second largest afterthat of Ayatollah Khomeini.On 7 January 2020, astampedetook place at the burial procession for Soleimani in Kerman attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners, killing 56 and injuring 212 more.

Retaliation

See also:Operation Martyr Soleimani

On 7 January 2020, theSupreme National Security Councilof Iran announced that it had drafted a13 revenge scenariosdocument.

The next day, the Iranian military responded to Soleimani's death bylaunching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq,resulting in no reported casualties but 100 traumatic brain injuries.Iranian officialsand some Western media analysts suggested the strike was deliberately designed to avoid causing any casualties to avoid an American response.The Iranian president cautioned the U.S. that Iran will take more retaliatory actions if the U.S. continues to interfere in the region.After the missile attack onAyn al-Asad airbase,Ukraine International AirlinesFlight 752was shot down by theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) shortly after it had taken off. While initial reports suggested that the missile strike was a result of a mistake, subsequent evidence raised the possibility that the flight might have been intentionally targeted. Some interpretations of the evidence indicated that this action could have been taken to divert public attention towards the US intervention in the region and to prevent potential retaliatory actions from the United States.

Execution of spy

On 20 July 2020, it was reported byIranian state televisionthat a man named Mahmoud Mousavi Majd had been executed following his conviction for providing information to the United States and Israel about Soleimani and theQuds Force.

Anniversary

Commemoration ceremony (anniversary) of "Qasem-Soleimani", in Tehran

On 3 January 2021, the first anniversary was marked of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad.Tens of thousands ofIran-backed militiasmarched on the highway leading to the Baghdad airport while chanting anti-American slogans.

There have been held commemoration ceremonies by the name of "Commemoration-Ceremony (Anniversary) of Martyr Qassem-Soleimani" (and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis) in presence and virtually (viaweb conferencing) in the cities of the Islamic Republic of Iranand several countries, such asOman,Iraq, Syria andPortugal.

According toFars News Agency,the anniversary of the commemoration of Qasem Soleimani, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and their colleagues was held with the presence of local and foreign officials inUniversity of Tehran,Iran.

On 3 January 2024, anexplosion occurred near a cemeteryin Kerman, on the 4th anniversary of Soleimani's death. About 89 people were killed and another 284 wounded, in an attack claimed by theISIL.

Cultural depictions and legacy

Soleimani behind the scenes of the film23 People

In 2015, the British magazineThe Weekfeatured a cartoon of Soleimani in bed withUncle Sam,which alluded to both sides' fighting ISIL.

The 2016 filmBodyguard,directed byEbrahim Hatamikia,was inspired by Soleimani's activities.

The 2016 Persian bookNoble Comrades 17: Hajj Qassem,written by Ali Akbari Mozdabadi, contains memoirs of Qassem Soleimani.In 2017, a computer-animated film,Battle of Persian Gulf II,where Soleimani is portrayed as the hero of the film.

Resalat Expresswayin Tehran was renamed "ShahidSardarQasem Soleimani "in his honor.

Shortly after his death, various representations of Qasem Soleimani appeared in many wall paintings and propaganda posters in Iran.Since then, his portrait has become more and more an integral part of the iconographic representation of the Islamic Republic.

In August 2020, Iran unveiled a newballistic missilenamedMartyr Haj Qasemand a newcruise missilenamedMartyr Abu MahdiafterAbu Mahdi al-Muhandis,the Iraqi commander killed alongside Soleimani.

"Shahid Soleimani Plan" (also "Martyr Soleimani Project" ) is the name of a complementary project to fightSARS-CoV-2during theCOVID-19 pandemic in Iran,in which more than 17 million households were screened, and this screening has been performed by more than 4.5 million "health ambassadors" in Iran.

DuringMahsa Protests,his pictures, banners featuring him, and also his statutes were targeted, burned and crushed by angry protesters as his involvement in the crackdown and killing of protesters in the past decade and other war crimes came to light.

On 2 October 2023, theAFCcalled off a match between Iranian sideSepahanand Saudi sideAl-IttihadinIsfahanafter Al-Ittihad refused to take the pitch when their requests for a bust of Soleimani to be removed were refused.

A statue of Soleimani was built in the "Garden of Iran" on the outskirts of the Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon but the garden was demolished by the IDF in October 2024 during theIsraeli-Hezbollah war.

Awards and decorations

Order of Zolfaghar

Order of Fath(1st class)

Order of Fath(2nd class)

Order of Fath(2nd class)

On 13 January 2020, Syrian Minister of DefenseAli Abdullah Ayyoubpresented the medal of "The Champion of the Syrian Arab Republic", which PresidentBashar al-Assadgranted posthumously to Qassem Soleimani, to his Iranian counterpart,Amir Hatami.

See also

• Haj Qasem (missile)
• List of assassinations by the United States
• List of Iranian two-star generals since 1979
• List of Iranian commanders in the Iran–Iraq War
• List of commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
• Mohsen Hojaji

Bibliography

• Azizi, Arash (2020).The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran's Global Ambitions.Oneworld Publications.ISBN978-1-78607-945-9.

External links

• David Ignatius,At the Tip of Iran's Spear,Washington Post,8June 2008
• Martin Chulov,Qassem Suleimani: the Iranian general 'secretly running' Iraq,The Guardian,28 July 2011
• Dexter Filkins,The Shadow Commander,The New Yorker,30 September 2013
• Ali Mamouri,The Enigma of Qasem Soleimani And His Role in Iraq,Al-Monitor,13 October 2013
• BBC Radio 4 Profile