Iran Qasem Soleimani: 103 people died in two massive explosions near the tomb of former Iranian General Qasim Sulemani. This blast happened when a program was being organized on the fourth anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination. According to the Deputy Governor of Iran, this is a terrorist attack.
Who was Qasim Sulemani?
According to Al Jazeera’s report, Qasim Sulemani led Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force from 1998 to 2020. He achieved celebrity status at home and abroad for his important role in spreading Iranian influence in the Middle East. Soleimani was considered the right hand of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei. He was said to be the second most powerful person in Iran after Khamenei.
To control this area, the Americans and Tehran’s regional enemies fought a war with Saudi Arabia and Israel. Soleimani strengthened Iran’s ties with Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as Syria’s al-Assad and Shia militia groups in Iraq.
Joined the army during the Iranian Revolution
The Quds Force expanded greatly under Soleimani’s leadership, wielding significant influence in the intelligence, financial and political sectors near Iran’s borders. According to the report, during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Sulemani joined the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Before this he was a construction worker.
After the re-establishment of the government in Iraq in 2005, Soleimani’s influence in the politics there increased. After the civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Soleimani ordered some of his Iraqi militia to go to Syria to protect the Assad government. Some units of the Iran-backed Shia paramilitary (Hashd al-Shaabi) were under Soleimani’s control.
The group fought alongside Iraqi forces during the fight against ISIL. According to the report, Soleimani’s role in defeating ISIL made him a hero among the Iranian people and other Middle Eastern countries.
Helped Hamas in Gaza Strip
According to AP report, Soleimani and the Quds Force played an important role in helping the Iraqi government defeat the Islamic State (2014-2017). In 2015, Soleimani led the commando operation to rescue a Russian pilot in Syria. Senior Hamas officials had credited Soleimani for the construction and maintenance of Hamas’s tunnel network in the Gaza Strip.
There were many rumors regarding the death of Qasim Sulemani. In 2006, there were rumors that Soleimani and other military officers were killed in a plane crash in north-western Iran.
Rumors spread about Suleimani
There were many rumors regarding the death of Qasim Sulemani. In 2006, there were rumors that Soleimani and other military officers were killed in a plane crash in north-western Iran. In November 2015, rumors spread that Soleimani was killed among key forces loyal to al-Assad during fighting around Aleppo, Syria.
After this, rumors emerged that Tehran foiled the conspiracy of Israeli and Arab agencies conspiring to kill Soleimani. Former General Soleimani died in a US airstrike at Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.
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