page_title: Qasem Soleimani
section_title: In politics
hierarchical_section_title: Qasem Soleimani / In politics
caption_attribution_description: English: Major General Qassem Soleimani at the International Day of Mosque فارسی: سرلشکر قاسم سلیمانی در روز جهانی مسجد العربية: اللواء قاسم سليماني في يوم المسجد الدولي
context_page_description: Qasem Soleimani was an Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and, from 1998 until his death in 2020, commander of its Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations. In his later years, he was considered by some to be the second most powerful person in Iran behind Ayatollah Khamenei and his right-hand man.
  Soleimani was assassinated in a targeted U.S. drone strike on 3 January 2020 in Baghdad, which was approved by President Donald Trump. The strike was strongly condemned by some, including the Iranian government, and a multi-city funeral was held in Iraq and Iran for the general and other casualties. Hours after Soleimani's burial on 7 January 2020, the Iranian military launched missiles against U.S. bases in Iraq; no lives were lost in the second attack.
context_section_description: In 1999, Soleimani, along with other senior IRGC commanders, signed a letter to then-President Mohammad Khatami regarding the student protests in July. They wrote "Dear Mr. Khatami, how long do we have to shed tears, sorrow over the events, practice democracy by chaos and insults, and have revolutionary patience at the expense of sabotaging the system? Dear president, if you don't make a revolutionary decision and act according to your Islamic and national missions, tomorrow will be so late and irrecoverable that cannot be even imagined."
  Iranian media reported in 2012 that he might be replaced as the commander of Quds Force in order to allow him to run in the 2013 presidential election. He reportedly refused to be nominated for the election. According to BBC News, in 2015 a campaign started among conservative bloggers for Soleimani to stand for 2017 presidential election. In 2016, he was speculated as a possible candidate, however in a statement published on 15 September 2016, he called speculations about his candidacy as "divisive reports by the enemies" and said he will "always remain a simple soldier serving Iran and the Islamic Revolution".
  In the summer of 2018, Soleimani and Tehran exchanged public remarks related to Red Sea shipping with American President Donald Trump which heightened tensions between the two countries and their allies in the region.
caption: Soleimani speaking at International Day of Mosque conference
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