Qasem Soleimani

Under Soleimani's leadership, the Quds Force armed, trained and financed Shia groups in Iraq. The Pentagon attributed to Soleimani and the Quds Force responsibility for campaigns causing the deaths of hundreds of US and allied military personnel, notably through sophisticated explosive devices and Iranian-backed militias.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Command responsibility

In September 2019, the US Treasury sanctioned a large maritime network accused of transporting and selling Iranian oil for the benefit of the Assad regime, Hezbollah and other actors. OFAC explicitly stated that Qasem Soleimani supervised Rostam Qasemi, the network's operational manager, and that the structure had moved hundreds of millions of dollars.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Command responsibility

At the height of Iraqi protests against corruption and foreign influence, Reuters reported that Soleimani had travelled to Baghdad and asked Hadi al-Amiri and militia leaders to continue supporting Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, while Moqtada al-Sadr was pressing for his departure. An Iranian official confirmed his presence and said he had come to "offer advice".

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

After Iraq's 2018 parliamentary elections, Soleimani held discussions with Hadi al-Amiri and other officials in Baghdad to promote formation of a new government acceptable to Iran. The episode fuelled accusations of Iranian interference in Iraqi politics.

State of the evidence

Reported by the press

Attribution

Directly implicated

In July 2018, Soleimani responded to Donald Trump's threats by stating that war would destroy "everything you possess", that Iranian forces were close to the United States in places it could not imagine and that, if Washington started the war, Iran would determine its end.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Personally implicated

Before Iraqi forces recaptured Kirkuk, Soleimani visited Iraqi Kurdistan several times. Kurdish officials told Reuters that he had warned them to withdraw the Peshmerga or risk an offensive and the loss of Iranian support; his interventions were described as decisive in some Kurdish leaders' decisions.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Reuters reported that in July 2015 Soleimani visited Moscow, presented a map of the military situation in Syria and helped prepare the Russian intervention intended to support Bashar al-Assad. The trip was also controversial because Soleimani was subject to international travel restrictions.

Attribution

Directly implicated

In May 2011, Washington sanctioned Qasem Soleimani over the Quds Force's support for the Syrian regime during the crackdown on the uprising. The US Treasury described the Quds Force as a major channel of Iranian assistance to Syrian security services.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The US Treasury sanctioned Soleimani in connection with the plot to assassinate Saudi ambassador Adel al-Jubeir in Washington. The official text stated that, as commander of the Quds Force, Soleimani oversaw the officers involved in the plot.

State of the evidence

Documented

On 24 March 2007, the UN Security Council listed Soleimani in the annex to Resolution 1747 as one of the key figures in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as the UN expanded sanctions relating to Iran's nuclear programme and proliferation activities.

State of the evidence

Documented

Qasem Soleimani was among senior IRGC commanders who signed a letter to reformist President Mohammad Khatami following the July 1999 student demonstrations. The signatories stated that their "patience" had run out and demanded a "revolutionary" decision, in a text widely interpreted as a threat of military intervention in the political crisis.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable