Martyr Qasem Soleimani: Difference between revisions

Qasem Soleimani (Persian: قاسم سلیمانی,11 March 1957 – 3 January 2020) was an Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and, from 1998 until his death in 2020, commander of its Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations. In his later years, he was considered by some to be the second most powerful person in Iran behind Ayatollah Ali Khamenei <ref>U.S. killing of Iran's second most powerful man risks regional conflagration reuters.com </ref> and his right-hand man.[ <ref>"Was America's assassination of Qassem Suleimani justified?". The Economist. 7 January 2020. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020. </ref>

Soleimani was popular among many Iranians, with many viewing him as a "selfless hero fighting Iran's enemies", <ref>"In major escalation, U.S. airstrike kills top Iranian commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani". Japan Times Online. 3 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020. </ref>

Soleimani was born on 11 March 1957, in the village of Qanat-e Malek, Kerman Province. <ref>General Qassim Soleimani, charismatic leader of Iran's elite Quds Force who wrong-footed the West to become a key power broker in the Middle East—obituary Archived 5 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine, 3 January 2020, The Daily Telegraph </ref> After he finished school, he moved to the city of Kerman and worked on a construction site <ref>Najmeh Bozorgmehr, Qassem Soleimani, Iranian military commander, 1957-2020 Archived 4 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine, 3 January 2020, Financial Times </ref> to help repay his father's agricultural debts.  

On 22 September 1980, when Saddam Hussein launched an invasion of Iran, setting off the Iran–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. <ref>"The enigma of Qasem Soleimani and his role in Iraq". Al Monitor. 13 October 2013. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016. </ref> He quickly earned a reputation for bravery, <ref>Weiss, Michael (2 July 2014). "Iran's Top Spy Is the Modern-Day Karla, John Le Carré's Villainous Mastermind". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016. </ref> 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 the 41st Tharallah Division while still in his 20s, participating in most major operations. He was mostly stationed at the southern front. <ref>"The enigma of Qasem Soleimani and his role in Iraq". Al Monitor. 13 October 2013. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016. </ref> He was seriously injured in Operation Tariq-ol-Qods. In a 1990 interview, he mentioned Operation Fath-ol-Mobin as "the best" operation he participated in and "very memorable", due to its difficulties yet positive outcome. <ref>"(Readable [considerable] portions of the book 'Haj-Qasem') بخش‌های خواندنی کتاب "حاج قاسم"". yjc.ir. Archived from the original on 9 February 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2016. </ref> He was also engaged in leading and organizing irregular warfare missions deep inside Iraq by the Ramadan Headquarters.[clarification needed] It was at this point that Soleimani established relations with Kurdish Iraqi leaders and the Shia Badr Organization, both opposed to Iraq's Saddam Hussein.[51]  

After the war, during the 1990s, he was an IRGC commander in Kerman Province. <ref>Alfoneh, Ali (March 2011). "Iran's Secret Network: Major General Qassem Suleimani's Inner Circle" (PDF). Middle Eastern Outlook. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013. </ref> In this region, which is relatively close to Afghanistan, Afghan-grown opium travels to Turkey and on to Europe.[citation needed] Soleimani's military experience helped him earn a reputation as a successful fighter against drug trafficking. <ref>Filkins, Dexter (30 September 2013). "The Shadow Commander". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014. </ref>

Soleimani strengthened the relationship between Quds Force and Hezbollah upon his appointment, and supported the latter by sending in operatives to retake southern Lebanon. <ref>Filkins, Dexter (30 September 2013). "The Shadow Commander". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014. </ref> In an interview aired in October 2019, he said he was in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War to manage the conflict. <ref>"Soleimani: Mastermind of Iran's Expansion". The Iran Primer. 14 October 2019. </ref>

On 24 January 2011, Soleimani was promoted to Major General by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. <ref>Alfoneh, Ali (March 2011). "Iran's Secret Network: Major General Qassem Suleimani's Inner Circle" (PDF). Middle Eastern Outlook. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013. </ref> Khamenei was described as having a close relationship with him, calling Soleimani a "living martyr" and helping him financially. <ref>Filkins, Dexter (30 September 2013). "The Shadow Commander". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014. </ref>

Soleimani was one of the strongest supporters of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War. <ref>Filkins, Dexter (30 September 2013). "The Shadow Commander". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014. </ref> <ref>"The Islamic Republic's 13 generals". Iran Briefing. 3 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013. </ref>

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. <ref>Bozorgmehr Sharafedin (6 March 2015), General Qasem Soleimani: Iran's rising star, BBC News, archived from the original on 27 December 2016, retrieved 1 January 2017 (alternate archive URL, archived 12 August 2018 </ref>

According to Reuters, 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 a Russian military intervention that has reshaped the Syrian war and forged a new Iran–Russia alliance in 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.'" General Soleimani went to explain the map of the theatre and coordinate the strategic escalation of military forces in Syria. <ref>"How Iranian general plotted out Syrian assault in Moscow". Reuters. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2017. </ref>

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. <ref>Afshon Ostovar. Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Oxford University Press. p. 227. </ref>

In 2014, Soleimani was in the Iraqi city of Amirli, to work with Iraqi forces to push back ISIL militants.[32] The Los Angeles Times reported 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". <ref>Leith Fadel (20 October 2015). "Cheetah Forces Press Further in East Aleppo: Hilltops Overlooking Tal Sab'een Captured". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015. </ref>

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.[86] 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,[89] providing liaisons for intelligence-sharing along with arms, munitions and expertise.<ref>"Iranians play role in breaking ISIS siege of Iraqi town". Reuters. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2017. </ref>

In November 2014, Shia and Kurdish forces under Soleimani's command pushed ISIL out of the Iraqi villages of Jalawla and Saadia in the Diyala Governorate. <ref>Afshon Ostovar. Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Oxford University Press. p. 227. </ref>

Soleimani played an integral role in the organization and planning of the crucial operation to retake the city of Tikrit in Iraq from ISIL. The city of Tikrit rests on the left bank of the Tigris river 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's massacre at Camp Speicher led 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. <ref>Rasheed, Ahmad (3 March 2015). "Iraqi army and militias surround Isis in major offensive in the battle for Tikrit". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015. </ref>

Soleimani was assassinated on 3 January 2020 around 1:00 a.m. local time (22:00 UTC 2 January), <ref>Ghattas, Kim (3 January 2020). "Qassem Soleimani Haunted the Arab World". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020. </ref> by U.S. drone strike near Baghdad International Airport.<ref>Gal Perl Finkel, Potential for strategic turns, The Jerusalem Post, 16 February 2020. </ref>