Qassem Soleimani is the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s Qods [Jerusalem] Force, the IRGC’s elite unit charged with export of revolution. In 2007, the US Treasury Department designated it as an organization in support of terrorism and also singled out Soleimani. He remains on the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nations and Blocked Person List. Annex One to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1747 likewise cites Soleimani as a key IRGC individual subject to sanctions. That the Islamic Republic maintains a website dedicated to Soleimani suggests that, regardless of any other rapprochement, it very much supports Soleimani and his activities.
On an April 7, 2015 story, the website announced production on “Commander,” a biopic of Qassem Soleimani and his efforts to counter the Islamic State as well as promote “resistance” against Israel. Indeed, the description of the film in the excerpted article suggests equivalence between fighting the Islamic State and destroying the “Zionist regime,” i.e., Israel. This suggests that antipathy toward Israel remains an ideological pillar of the Islamic Republic and the IRGC. During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) the IRGC declared its war aims not simply to be expulsion of Iraqi forces from Iranian territory or defeat of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime in Iraq, but rather the liberation of Jerusalem.
That “Commander” focuses on Qods Force efforts to conquer Jerusalem indicates that Iranian efforts to arm and train terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and elements on the Golan Heights and perhaps even in the Sinai Peninsula will continue, and that the IRGC will use such a campaign to ensure it remains front and center in the competition for power and resources within Iran.
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