As leader of Iran's elite Quds Force, General Qasem Soleimani was instrumental in the spread of Iranian influence across the Middle East. He personally oversaw dozens of operations in the region and led Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
How Soleimani Spread Iran's Influence Across The Middle East
- By RFE/RL
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Qasem Soleimani became commander of the Quds Force in 1998, the foreign arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Under Soleimani's leadership, the Quds Force expanded Tehran's influence beyond Iran's borders and throughout the Middle East -- from Lebanon and Yemen to Iraq and Syria.
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Plumes of smoke rise from the U.S. Embassy compound in March 2008 after Iranian-backed militias shelled Baghdad's Green Zone. Quds Force commander Soleimani played such a pivotal role in Iraq’s security through various militia groups that U.S. General David Petraeus, the overall head of U.S. forces in Iraq at the time, sent messages to him through Iraqi officials.
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Soleimani personally oversaw dozens of operations by Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
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Despite being rivals in the Middle East, the United States and Iran shared a mutual enemy -- Islamic State militants. Soleimani commanded Iran-backed militias in Iraq near the front line in Salahuddin Province during a 2015 offensive against IS fighters.
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Soleimani at the front line during operations against Islamic State militants in the Iraqi town of Tal Ksaiba on March 8, 2015.
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Soleimani appearing with Hizballah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (left). Soleimani helped Iran strengthen its ties with Hizballah in Lebanon. Soleimani said he advised Hizballah during the 34-day war with Israel in 2006. More than 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis were killed in the conflict.
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Soleimani’s Quds Force shored up support for Syrian President Bashir al-Assad when he looked close to defeat in a civil war that has raged since 2011. Assad met with Soleimani and Iranian President Hassan Rohani during a visit to Tehran on February 25, 2019.
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Following the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011, Soleimani ordered some of his Iraqi militias into Syria to support Syrian government troops, seen here at the Kweiras air base east of Aleppo. In November 2015, U.S. officials said some 2,000 Iranian or Iran-backed forces were participating in the regime’s Aleppo operations.
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Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency claimed Soleimani was behind the rescue of a Russian pilot downed in Syria. The Russian jet was shot down in Turkish airspace on November 24, 2015. The pilot ejected over the border into Syria. The rescue was reportedly carried out by eight Hizballah fighters, 18 Syrian commandos, and with support from the Russian air force.
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After keeping a low profile for many years, Soleimani began appearing alongside Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei. On March 27, 2015, he attended a religious ceremony in Tehran.
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Soleimani’s growing authority within Iran’s military establishment was apparent when he was awarded the Order of Zolfiqar medal on March 11, 2019, Iran’s highest military honor. It was the first time any commander had received the medal since the Islamic republic was established in 1979.
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Iran-backed Yemeni rebels took responsibility for destroying Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq oil-processing plant on September 20, 2019. Hours after the attacks, Soleimani posted a video praising the Huthis as part of Iran's “expanding” network of followers.
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Yemeni tribesmen loyal to Huthi rebels brandished their weapons in 2016. The Iran-backed rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, called for "swift reprisals" for the killing of Soleimani.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meeting with Soleimani in May 2017.
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"Soleimani has basically been running Iran's foreign policy in the region through alliances backed by force," said then-British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
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Iran's media has celebrated Soleimani as a national hero. Iranians carried his portrait in the streets of Tehran during a December 2017 protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
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Members of an Iran-backed Shi'ite militia smash the bulletproof glass of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on December 31, 2019. The U.S. military said that Soleimani "approved the attack" and had organized several other attacks on U.S.-led coalition bases in Iraq over the past several months.
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Soleimani was killed in a U.S. air strike on two vehicles at Baghdad's international airport on January 3. The Iraqi military posted a photo on Facebook showing a vehicle in flames following the strike.
