Who was Iran's illusive General?

On the 3rd January 2020 General Qasem Soleimani was assassinated by a U.S drone strike near Baghdad International Airport. But who was he? What did he do? Hopefully this article will help you to understand the role he played and answer some questions you may have.

1) Who was he? 2) What did he do? 3) What happens next?

Major General Soleimani fought in the Iran-Iraq war and later became the leader of the powerful Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The force is renowned as the jewel of Iranian foreign policy and is comparable to a combined CIA and SAS; its name comes from the Persian word for Jerusalem, which its fighters have promised to liberate. Since it was established in 1979, its goal has been to overthrow Iran’s enemies whilst extending the country’s influence over the Middle East. To understand more about Soleimani and the Quds force we must rewind to the early history of Soleimani and we begin with the Iran-Iraq war. . . 

The Sacred Defence: 

The name given to the Iran-Iraq war (1980 - 1988 - Iraq invaded Iran). The war was a ferocious one; however, for Iran it wasn’t enough to just defend itself, it was part of the process to build a Shiite sphere of influence extending from Iraq and Syria, across to North Africa’s Mediterranean. In collaboration with its allies, Syria and Lebanon, Iran created a triumvirate axis of power starkly opposed against the regions dominant Sunni powers and the West. Soleimani fought on the front lines for the Revolutionary Guard for 8 years. He was entirely committed to the Iranian revolution in order to create a dominant Shiite rule in the region. 

The key lesson learnt from the Iran-Iraq war: 

Iran was surrounded by enemies. To Iran, the Iraqi invasion meant more. The Iranian regime believed western powers were of equal blame to Iraq. American military officials knew about Saddam Hussein’s planned Iranian offensive in 1980, what’s more is that they provided him with target information which was used in chemical weapon attacks against Iranian troops. The weapons were built by Western European firms and Iran believes they were gifted to Hussein. An example of how vicious these attacks were came In 1987, a division under Soleimani’s command was attacked by chemical weapons. More than 100 of his men suffered the effects. The key lesson learnt here for Iran was that they had enemies all over the globe, plotting against Iran’s regime.

Post Iran-Iraq war: 

Avoiding another costly war was crucial so in order to build their Shiite sphere of influence they had to create new ways of doing so. They did so by covertly attacking stronger powers, outside of Iran and in some cases the region as a whole. Enter the Quds Force. Ruhollah Khomeini (The former Supreme Leader of Iran) had created the force in 1979, with the overall goal to export the Islamic Revolution. The first big opportunity came in Lebanon, where Revolutionary Guard officers were dispatched in 1982 to help galvanize Shiite militias in the Lebanese civil war. This resulted in the creation of Hezbollah. 

Furthermore, Soleimani supported Afghan rebels who were holding out against the Taliban. Iran despised the Taliban, because of their persecution of Afghanistan’s minority Shiite population.

Soleimani becomes leader of the Quds Force: 

Soleimani became leader of the Quds Force in 1998. He strengthened relationships in Lebanon immediately. The Israeli’s had occupied southern Lebanon for 16 years, Hezbollah wanted this to end so Soleimani sent in the Quds Force to help. They aided Hezbollah with planning and training. In 2000, the Israelis withdrew, exhausted by relentless Hezbollah bombings. It was a symbolic victory for the Shiites. 

Taking over an agency which already had a lethal reputation. American and Argentine officials believe that the Iran colluded with Hezbollah in the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed twenty-nine people. Soleimani built the Quds Force into an organisation with extraordinary reach, with branches focused on intelligence, finance, politics, sabotage, and special operations. Its members were picked for their skill and their allegiance to the Islamic Revolution. 

The war in Iraq and Afghanistan: 

At the beginning of the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. There was genuine cooperation between Iran and America. Information was exchanged about the location of Taliban targets. However, a year later in 2002 President George W. Bush gave a speech which branded Iran as being part of the ‘Axis of Evil’. These three words brought about the end of the cooperation between the two states and Soleimani was furious. 

Then, America decided to invade Iraq in 2003. At first Iran were terrified they were next; however, once the cracks appeared to show in the U.S led invasion, Soleimani became more aggressive towards the Western forces. For years, Soleimani had sent operatives into Iraq to mobilise Shiite militias, so, when Saddam fell, he had a fighting force ready. The Quds Force began to organise militias that were willing to attack the Americans and they trained them in Iran with help from Hezbollah. Soleimani’s control over the Iraqi Shiite militias appeared to be total. In 2004, the Quds Force began flooding Iraq with lethal roadside bombs that caused chaos for the Americans. They were able to penetrate armor and accounted for nearly twenty percent of U.S combat deaths. Soleimani’s anti American sentiment was so strong it crossed the Shiite-Sunni Divide. Soleimani encouraged the Assad regime to release Sunni extremists to fight the Americans. There is also evidence suggesting Iran allowed Al-Qaeda to take refuge in Iran to plan attacks against the regions Western ally, Saudi Arabia. Ultimately this led to three attacks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, killing 35 people, including 9 Americans. As it turned out, the Iranian strategy of releasing Sunni extremists backfired, the same extremists began attacking Shiite civilians and the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government. A sincere preview of the civil war to come. 

Iran’s policy towards the Americans wasn’t 100 percent hostile. Both nations were trying to empower Iraq's Shiite majority. Soleimani just wanted no American influence. 

The covert war with America: 

As the war dragged on, American generals largely didn’t intervene with Quds Force Operatives in the fear of provoking Iran. However, as time went on and Iranian backed militias grew stronger, American Generals were at breaking point. In 2006, Soleimani and a leading member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were in a convoy to meet Kurdish officials 100 miles deep into Iraq. American forces moved in and took five Quds Force members captive. Just nine days later, undercover Iranian militia men pulled up to the gates of the Karbala Provincial Center, in southern Iraq. Once inside the compound, they Killed one U.S soldier and captured four, ignoring everyone else. A few hours later, the four captives were executed. The raid was carried out by an Iranian backed militia and American officials speculated that Soleimani had ordered it, in response to the capture of the Quds Force members. Within two months, the Americans had killed the alleged leader of the attack and rounded up several of the participants. One of them was Ali Musa Daqduq, a Hezbollah commander who had trained in Iran. He was tortured and he spoke. Soleimani was behind it. 

The alliance with Hezbollah: 

As mentioned above Iran created Hezbollah. During a 1990 speech, Ruhollah Khomeini stated that the key objective for the Quds Force was to create Hezbollah cells all over the globe. Hezbollah has become extremely strong in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has recognised Iran’s Supreme Leader as the ultimate authority and they answer to Iran and the Quds Force. From 2000 to 2006, Iran contributed a hundred million dollars a year to Hezbollah. Its fighters are attractive proxies; unlike the Iranians, they speak Arabic, making them better equipped to operate in Syria and elsewhere in the Arab world. Working with Iran, they will continue to launch attacks worldwide.

Soleimani’s role in the formation of Iraq’s new government: 

In 2010 American command congratulated Iraq on forming a new government, Prime Minister Maliki was appointed after 9 months of no government. What the Americans failed to explain was that the new Iraqi government wasn’t brokered by them but instead, Soleimani.

Soleimani invited Shiite and Kurdish leaders to meet him. They promised to support Maliki, his preferred candidate. The deal had a complex array of enticements. Maliki and Assad disliked each other; so, Soleimani brought them together by forging an agreement to build an oil pipeline from Iraq to Syria. Most remarkable, were the two conditions that Soleimani imposed on the Iraqis. The first was that Jalal Talabani, a longtime friend of the Iranian regime, becomes President. The second was that Maliki and his coalition partners insist that all American troops leave Iraq.

Soleimani utterly out maneuvered the Americans. 

Iraq is now a failed state, an Iranian satellite. Soleimani exerted so much influence over Iraq that Maliki’s government set aside two hundred thousand barrels of oil a day for Iran, twenty million dollars worth. The Quds Force were now immune to Western economic sanctions placed on Iran.

The war in Syria:  

In early 2013 Assad was losing territory to the rebels, who were Sunni dominated, Iran’s key rival. If Assad fell from power then Iran would lose its link to Lebanon’s Shia militia Hezbollah, Iran's key ally against Israel. As the war continued Soleimani flew to Damascus regularly to gain control over Iranian intervention there. It was believed he worked out of a fortified nondescript building where he installed an array of officers; including, the heads of the Syrian military, Hezbollah commanders and leaders of Iraqi Shiite militias. Soleimani mobilised these experienced officials so they could keep on fighting if Assad fell. Arguably Soleimani’s greatest achievement was persuading his proxies in the Iraqi government to allow Iran to use its airspace to fly military aid to Damascus, Syria. The flights are overseen by the Iraqi transportation minister who was an old friend of Soleimani, who also fought in the Iran-Iraq war. 

Syria was vital to Soleimani, without syria he would never be able to get arms through to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and they are vital in Iran’s Shiite sphere of influence. 

Soleimani played a key part in bringing together the Kurdish forces and the Shia militias In Iraq and Syria to fight against ISIS. 

What Soleimani’s death means for future relations: 

?Since his death, retaliation has occurred with Iran firing rockets at U.S bases in Baghdad, Iraq and unsurprisingly increased hatred towards the West. More recently, unconfirmed Russian intelligence has reported that high ranking CIA officials were killed in a spy plane crash in Afghanistan. Among them apparently was Michael D’Andrea, rumoured to have led the Soleimani operation. D’Andrea who earned the nickname Ayatollah Mike for his aggressive stance towards Iran. The Taliban have claimed to have shot down the plane but this could be a cover up as no evidence has been found. This is potentially huge news and could lead to increased escalation in an already unstable region.