Soleimani’s Role as IRGC General in Suppression

Soleimani, who was the commander of the Quds Force, IRGC’s foreign operations arm, was killed in the early hours of Friday, January 3. His elimination has dealt an irreparable blow to the Iranian regime. Following the 1979 revolution, Soleimani joined IRGC and was immediately dispatched to western Iran to crack down on the Kurdish minority. Thanks to his service in suppression regional people, he became a senior official in the Revolutionary Guards. His vicious actions attracted the attention of Khomeini’s aides, who quickly promoted him as the IRGC Quds base commander in Kerman.

After the Iran-Iraq war ceasefire, the IRGC began underground trade, including the smuggling of narcotics. At the time, Soleimani oversaw narcotics production and distribution from Afghanistan to countries of the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the U.S.

The IRGC plays the most important role in keeping the regime in power. Since 1979, this entity is responsible for killing thousands of protesters. Ayatollahs rewarded IRGC commanders by appointing them in crucial positions regarding their numerous crimes against dissidents, minorities, women, etc. the reality is, the IRGC is the axis of regime’s oppressive apparatus and mullahs don’t have the ability to rein in the society’s wrath without these thugs. Besides, many IRGC members served as torturers and executioners in the regime’s prisons.

For instance, in mid-November 2019, when hundreds of thousands of outraged people poured the streets across Iran, Khamenei immediately deployed IRGC to quell protests. Fearing the regime’s downfall, IRGC forces murdered more than 1,500 demonstrators, injured over 4,000, and arrested at least 12,000 people.

The IRGC-QF was directly responsible for plotting against dissidents abroad. In the past three decades, the Iranian regime orchestrated more than 450 terrorist attacks against the main opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Hundreds of PMOI/MEK members were assassinated and more injured. Notably, around 150 attacks were performed in Iraq alone.

Soleimani at the Head of Iran’s Aggressions Beyond its Borders

Significantly, the IRGC-QF is the essential means of the regime to terrorize other nations. Islamic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini founded his regime based on the theory of “expansion” and “export of revolution.” The Quds Force plays a key role in the implementation of these purposes in the Middle East.

During recent months that protests rapidly engulfed Lebanon and Iraq, Qasem Soleimani was dispatched by Khamenei to keep the regime’s allies in power. He took the wheel and brought snipers and heavy weapons in Iraq to scatter protesters. However, the Iraqi demonstrators persisted in their protests and compelled Iran-backed prime minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi to resign. Soleimani frequently traveled to Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, etc. to insinuate Iran’s mercenaries to support Abdul-Mahdi’s administration. However, the Iraqi people’s will power overcame the Iranian regime’s dictates.

Soleimani also ordered Lebanese Hezbollah to storm Lebanese demonstrators who rallied to cut off the Iranian regime’s influence in their country. He was the first responsible for the continuation of political turmoil in this country.

Also, it should be reminded that Soleimani was playing the most important role in preventing the downfall of the criminal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Since 2011, when hundreds of thousands of Syrian people protested against the Assad regime, the Iranian regime dispatched many IRGC commanders and agents to quell the Syrians’ upheaval. This force that was commanded by Soleimani has massacred around 700,000 innocent people, including minors and old people in inhuman attacks.

In this regard, Qasem Soleimani’s assassination not only made peoples in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, etc. happy, but it also inspired them to continue their protests against Iran’s dictatorship. Khamenei sees its regime in a weaker situation than ever before by losing his right-hand in domestic suppression and foreign aggression. In this regard, many people in Iraq and Lebanon flooded into streets and celebrated Soleimani elimination. They reaffirmed their desire to bring down all dictators and cut the head of the snake in Iran.