Who is Qasem Soleimani of Iran?

Who is Qasem Soleimani of Iran, and why did the US President Donal Trump order his death?

Just take a look at the thousands of people who attended the funeral of Qasem Soleimani, and you would already know how powerful and influential commander he is. The US airstrike killed Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport on Friday, and now, Iranians vowed to revenger, shouting, “Death to America!”

Qasem Soleimani funeral — Thousand of Iranians mourn the death of their commander Qasem Soleimani. (Image from Wikipedia)

Who is Qasem Soleimani of Iran?

Qasem Soleimani was born on March 11, 1957.
Iranians call Soleimani “selfless hero fighting Iran’s enemies.”
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once Soelimani, a “living martyr of the revolution.”
Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike last Friday. (Image from Albanian Daily News)
He was an Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
He was the commander of Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations.
He began his military career at the start of the Iran–Iraq War during the 1980s, eventually commanding the 41st Division.
In 2012, Soleimani helped bolster the government of Bashar al-Assad, a key Iranian ally, during Iran’s operations in the Syrian Civil War and helped to plan the Russian military intervention in Syria.
Soleimani oversaw the Kurdish and Shia militia forces in Iraq and assisted the Iraqi forces that advanced against ISIL in 2014–2015.

Why did the US President Donal Trump order to kill Soleimani?

The United States and the European Union designated Soleimani as a terrorist for his alleged involvement in attacks that led to the deaths of American troops stationed abroad.
Canada, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the US considered his group, the Quds Force as a terrorist organization.
On 24 June 2011, the Official Journal of the European Union said he was one of the three Iranian Revolutionary Guard members subjected to sanctions for “providing equipment and support to help the Syrian government suppress protests in Syria.”
Defense Department said Soleimani was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”
President Donald Trump approved Soleimani’s killing because Soleimani posed an imminent threat to American lives.

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