Qasem Soleimani

Qasem Soleimani was an Iranian major general who commanded the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force from 1998 until his death in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad in 2020.

Ali Khamenei: Ali Khamenei has been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, exercising authority over the country’s armed forces and major state institutions. Khamenei backed Soleimani’s regional strategy and granted him direct access to Iran’s supreme leadership.
Axis of Resistance: The Axis of Resistance is a loose network of states and armed groups aligned against U.S. and Israeli influence in the Middle East. Soleimani helped coordinate this network as a central instrument of Iranian regional policy.
Iraq War: The Iraq War began with the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and continued through years of occupation and insurgency. The post-invasion political order created openings for Iranian influence that Soleimani exploited.
U.S.–Iran relations: U.S.–Iran relations are the political and security interactions between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Soleimani’s killing sharply escalated an already adversarial relationship.
Iranian Army: The Iranian Army is Iran’s conventional military, separate from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Soleimani commanded the Quds Force, not the conventional army.
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis: Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was an Iraqi militia leader and deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces. He was Soleimani’s close Iraqi ally and was killed alongside him in Baghdad.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force is the external operations branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This alternate name denotes the same organization he commanded; use the canonical Quds Force page instead.
Syrian civil war: The Syrian civil war began in 2011 as an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and expanded into a multinational conflict. Soleimani helped organize Iranian and allied support for Assad’s government.
Assassination of Qasem Soleimani: The assassination of Qasem Soleimani was the U.S. killing of the Iranian commander in Baghdad on January 3, 2020. This event is often treated separately from his life and command; it was its decisive endpoint.
Iranian foreign policy: Iranian foreign policy is the state’s approach to diplomacy, security, trade, and relations with other countries. Soleimani’s military networks formed one instrument within a broader state policy.

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