Jordanian Warplanes Strike Iran-Backed Drug Smugglers In Syria

Lawmaker Mohammad Esmail Kosari -- who is a former Revolutionary Guards commander – said this week that it was Soleimani who convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin to join Iran-backed forces in Syria to support the government of Bashar al-Assad in its fight against opposition militias and Islamic State (ISIS). 

“With the authority entrusted to him by the political officials of countries, Soleimani engaged in diplomatic efforts, addressing issues in the best possible way. For example, in a meeting with Putin regarding the ISIS issue, he conveyed the concerns and justified the need for Putin to intervene. Putin accepted and joined the Resistance Front,” he said, referring to Iran's proxy militias.

Russia and Iran did indeed become ‘strategic’ allies in Syria, propping up the Assad regime in a brutal campaign that killed at least 300,000 and brought total destruction to large parts of the country.

Kosari added that Soleimani's expertise in irregular wars was also used in Afghanistan. After Afghanistan, he focused on Lebanon, and then organized the forces in Iraq and Syria. “All of these missions were interconnected, and I must say that these missions were assigned to Soleimani by the Supreme Leader,” he added. 

After the targeted Killing of Qasem Soleimani in January 2020, former US president Donald Trump described him as “the number-one terrorist anywhere in the world.” “For years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its ruthless Quds Force — under Soleimani’s leadership — has targeted, injured, and murdered hundreds of American civilians and servicemen,” he said, adding, “Soleimani has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilize the Middle East for the last 20 years.”

In more than two decades at the head of the IRGC’s extraterritorial Quds forces, Soleimani managed to create a loose but effective coalition of forces spanning from Yemen to Lebanon, all with domestic interest but united in their enmity towards Israel and the US.

In the past few days, state-affiliated media in Iran have also published many other accounts of Soleimani’s “achievements” in the region and beyond, including a lesser-known story of his role in the Bosnian war in the early 1990s.

In an interview with the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News, former commander of IRGC forces in Syria Mohammad Jafar Asadi described how Soleimani got involved in a European civil war almost immediately after taking charge of the Quds Force. He oversaw weapons shipped to the Balkans, where Iran was supporting Muslim Bosnians.

Soleimani’s name once more became ubiquitous in Iran’s state-affiliated media after Hamas’ rampage of Israel on October 7, with many officials hailing the attack as an ultimate fruition of his efforts, while at the same time denying any direct involvement in the planning or execution of the operation.

In a lengthy piece this week, the hardline paper Farhikhtegan said that Soleimani played a crucial role in supplying weapons to Gaza and even the West Bank -- revealed by the US State Department which estimated Hamas alone being funded to the value of $100m annually with tens of millions more to other militias such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Farhikhtegan revealed how Soleimani stressed the importance of domestic production of weapons in Gaza and Yemen -- where Houthis have become a major concern, disrupting the flow of vessels in the Red Sea to and from the Suez Canal. However, this home-grown weaponry, in addition to that smuggled in, still comes in large part from Iranian funding and provisions in addition to training.

In 2021, Iran International published a three-hour confidential interview with Zarif meant to remain in government archives that led to a political storm in Iran. In the interview, Zarif criticized the extent of influence the Revolutionary Guards, particularly the late IRGC commander, had over Iran’s foreign policy. He also claimed that Soleimani's visit to Moscow immediately after the 2015 nuclear deal was forged as an attempt to destroy the nuclear deal. "That trip was made upon Moscow's initiative without the Iranian Foreign Ministry having any control on it. Its objective was to destroy the JCPOA." 

On the fourth anniversary of Soleimani's death on Wednesday, twin bombings killed about 85 people who had gathered at his grave in Kerman, prompting Iranians to question how many more casualties the commander would cause even after his death. During Soleimani’s burial procession in 2020, about 60 people were crushed to death in a stampede.

One of the bloodiest incidents surrounding Soleimani’s death happened a few days after his assassination. Only hours after the IRGC had fired more than a dozen missiles at Iraqi bases hosting US troops in retaliation for Soleimani’s killing, the IRGC, responsible for the air defense of the capital Tehran and expecting retaliation from the US, shot down Ukraine's flight PS752 as it took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing 176 people onboard.

Abdollah Naseri, a former CEO of state news agency IRNA, criticized the Islamic Republic authorities for the huge propaganda campaign to portrait Soleimani as a national hero, the commander all but deified by the regime in his absence, from busts and statues in his honor to homages paid to him since his death in 2020. He claimed he has actually been a 30-year burden on the nation without offering anything.

A lot of lives would have been saved if the US had killed Soleimani long ago, Trump said after killing Soleimani, emphasizing that Soleimani had been “perpetrating acts of terror to destabilize the Middle East for the last 20 years.” 

“Soleimani is not an icon because he has done nothing for the people of Iran,” Naseri said.

The Boeing 747 cargo plane, belonging to Venezuela's Emtrasur, has been detained in Argentina since June 2022. The plane was purchased by Emtrasur, a subsidiary of state airline Conviasa, from Iran's Mahan Air in October 2021, violating US sanctions against both countries.

Caracas and Tehran objected to US efforts to seize the plane, seeking support from Argentina. On Wednesday, Judge Federico Villena directed its surrender to the United States, a decision denounced by Venezuela as "robbery," according to the justice ministry.

In June 2022, Argentine lawmaker Gerardo Milman alleged that Iranians on the Venezuelan plane were plotting "attacks on human targets." Iran meanwhile claimed the plane wasn't owned by an Iranian company but Milman accused the pilot of being a "senior official of Qods (Quds) force," listed as a terrorist organization by the United States.

The 19-member crew, consisting of Venezuelans and Iranians, initially faced detention, with the US suspecting one member's ties to the IRGC Quds Force, designated a terrorist organization. Although all crew members were initially detained, they were later released.

In September 2022, the pilot claimed he was only a flight instructor and denied ties to the Iranian military, but had served as a volunteer in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) with the Basij Popular Mobilization Forces.

The attack targeted a gathering commemorating the former IRGC's Middle East operative, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone in 2020, killing as many as 94 people and injuring 284.

The extremist group took responsibility for the attack through a statement posted on its affiliated Telegram channels, and published a video showing the blurred images of two alleged suicide bombers.

According to the IRNA state news agency, an official confirmed that a male suicide bomber had been seen through surveillance footage at Kerman's cemetery during the memorial.

The second explosion according to the official is suspected to have been carried out by a separate suicide bomber, though it has not been confirmed.

Iranian officials earlier blamed Israel and the United States for the bombing. Israel has ignored the accusation while Washington has dismissed it. Tehran, which often claims ISIS was created by the US, might still continue to point fingers at Washington, at least for its domestic audience.

Iranian dissidents, however, have blamed the Iranian regime for having had a role in the attack as a way of garnering support from a disgruntled populace.

Initially reporting 103 casualties, officials later revised the count downward, citing duplicate names on the victim list and the severity of injuries sustained by some. Despite adjustments, a considerable number of wounded individuals remain in critical condition, heightening concerns of a potential rise in the death toll.

The twin blasts on Wednesday resulted in numerous casualties near the grave of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani during the ceremony commemorating the fourth anniversary of his death.

The explosions, reported by Iranian state television, occurred at the cemetery in Kerman where the 2020 killing of the top IRGC commander was being commemorated.

During the emergency session, the Supreme National Security Council urged intelligence agencies to “promptly follow leads and identify the individuals behind the incident.” The Council aimed for “swift identification and punishment of those accountable for the event.”

As reported by the state news agency IRNA, the session also underscored the importance of “precisely identifying and reporting the role of the masterminds behind the attack”, amid allegations among Iranians that the attack was state backed. No state officials or members of the former Quds Force commander’s family attended the event, raising suspicions of regime involvement.

IRNA quoted the Council, stating, "The individuals, who consistently support terrorism and target innocent men, women, and children globally, will be held accountable for their involvement in this particular incident."

Additionally, the council revealed that relevant authorities have received directives to implement preventive measures against future acts of terrorism.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi revised the death toll to 84, down from the initial reports of 103 and later 95. Additionally, Mizan, the Judiciary's news agency, has published a list indicating 32 fatalities and 284 injuries.

The managing editor of one of Iran's leading reformist newspapers, Elias Hazrati revealed on Wednesday that in their meeting with President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday the Reformists urged him to delay the elections and renew the registration of candidates.

Most Reformist political groups did not name any candidates and their members refused to register as they were sulking with the government following large-scale banning of non-conservative candidates in the previous two election in 2020 and 2021. As a result, both the parliament and the executive branch are dominated by hardliners, who appear eager to monopolize power.

Meanwhile, the Reformists called on the government to endorse the qualifications of a majority of the 24,000 candidates who have registered their candidacy.

The other two demands by reformists were more general and not necessarily linked to the elections. They called on Raisi to take prompt measures to solve the country's long-standing economic problems and to promote the status of the parliament (Majles). During recent years the government has side-lined the parliament and most key decisions, such as increasing the price of fuel, were made by the heads of the three government branches.

Hazrati pointed out that some reformist figures did not take part in the meeting with Raisi and some others, including Reform Front leader Azar Mansouri were not invited. In all, some 50 Reformist and conservative figures were invited and half of them were given the opportunity to speak during the meeting. Most of the Reformists who spoke at the meeting, explained their views about improving political participation.

The government remained silent about what was discussed at the meeting and the President's Office's news dissemination chief Mohammad Hassan Najmi announced on Wednesday that "Raisi did a favor to political activists to allow them to take part in a meeting with him."

According to Hazrati, some of the conservative figures such Paydari Party leader Sadeq Mahsouli's behavior at the meeting was confrontational and he and some others were trying to change the discussions to factional infighting. He also observed that Raisi himself mainly talked about his expectations from the media to promote the "government's achievements."

He said the main problem with the meeting was that it took place when the disqualifications of reformist candidates have been completed and apparently there is nothing that can be done to avert a political debacle. The final result of the vetting is likely to be announced during the coming week.

The move by hardliners to block others from parliament is expected to turn the election into a low-turnout event.

Despite the grievances partly discussed by Hazrati, Iran's Reformists appear to settle for an arrangement that would give them the opportunity to form a small minority at the parliament.

A report on Rouydad24 website which called the next election "a loss for the reform camp," not only suggested the formation of "an influential reformist minority" at the Majles, but also briefly introduced 20 reformist figure who could be the members of the Reformist Fraction at the Iranian parliament.

The list of the imaginary faction members include former vice President Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, former lawmaker and government's critic Ali Motahari, Massoud Pezeshkian whom the website called "The senator from Tabriz" after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei criticized the Interior Ministry for barring him from running, and former lawmaker Mostafa Kavakebian the leader of a small reformist party called Mardom Salari (Democracy).

Interestingly, the qualifications of 12 of the 20- candidates suggested for membership in the Reform Fraction have been already rejected by the Interior Ministry.