Qassem Soleimani: Designing Deterrence in an Era of Global Hegemony
Faysal Ashmar
“Qassem Soleimani is not an exclusively Iranian affair. He embodies the whole Axis of Resistance. He embodies every force of resistance,” Martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said.
The assassination of Hajj Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020 was a major security event that cannot be separated from the broader developments in the region. It reflected the role Hajj Qassem played in shaping the balance of power in our region. To “Israel” and the United States, Hajj Qassem was not merely a military commander like other Iranian leaders; he was an operational military mind whose impact was profound and unmistakable in confronting “Israeli”–American military intervention in our countries, and a vital link connecting the arenas of resistance in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.
Lebanon: From Resistance to Deterrence
In his eulogy for the martyr Hajj Qassem Soleimani and the martyr Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, delivered days after their martyrdom, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said, “When they come- meaning the Americans-to Lebanon, to the resistance, to the liberation of the year 2000, to the 2006 war, to the growing strength of the resistance in Lebanon, to its missile capabilities, its qualitative capacities, its precision missiles, its steadfastness and resilience, they find Qassem Soleimani.”
With these few words, Sayyed Nasrallah succinctly captured the pivotal role Hajj Qassem Soleimani played in supporting the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon-a role that manifested in the development of the resistance’s missile capabilities and in transforming the resistance from a posture of defense to one of deterrence.
Syria: Preventing the Collapse of the State and Preserving the Line of Resistance
In the same eulogy, Martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah added, “When they go to Syria, and when the United States and ‘Israel’ bet on the takfiri terrorists, alongside the Syrian army, the Syrian people, and the leadership in Syria, they find Qassem Soleimani.”
Hajj Qassem Soleimani viewed the battle against terrorist groups in Syria, which began in 2011, as a decisive struggle for the Axis of Resistance-particularly because Syria constitutes the supply line between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Lebanon, and because the fall of the Syrian regime would have meant that the resistance movements in the region would lose a state with a major and influential role in the balance of conflict with the “Israeli” enemy. Accordingly, Hajj Qassem contributed to the reorganization of the Syrian army, to field and political coordination between the Syrian regime and its allied forces, and to the planning of the decisive battles in the war against terrorism in Syria.
Iraq: Confronting Daesh as the Americans Colluded
On the issue of Daesh [Arabic acronym for the terrorist ISIL/ISIS] group, its expansion in Iraq, and Hajj Qassem’s role there, Martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah added in the same speech, “They want to take control of Iraq and manipulate the Iraqis through ISIS for decades. They find Qassem Soleimani. They bet on tearing the Iraqis apart, and they find someone who brings them together, who coordinates among them, who unifies them. They find Qassem Soleimani.”
When the terrorist organization ISIS swept into Mosul, Iraq, in 2014, Iraqi army units retreated before it, and the US forces present in Iraq refrained from intervening to support the Iraqis. This highlighted Hajj Qassem Soleimani’s role, as he intervened to prevent Iraq from falling into the hands of terrorism—supporting the formation of the Popular Mobilization Forces, coordinating the defense of the capital Baghdad, and also coordinating battles in key areas of Iraq such as Amerli, Jurf al-Sakhar, and Tikrit.
Palestine: The Compass of Jihadist Action
“Very well, they began preparing for Hajj Qassem when they conducted a study and concluded that whenever they went to the Axis of Resistance, wherever they turned, one name kept recurring: Qassem Soleimani. We go to Palestine, to Gaza, to the Palestinian resistance and its factions; to supporting the Palestinian resistance with weapons, training, and technological capabilities; to supporting the Palestinian cause through media, conferences, and relations, and to directing everything we have in the region toward Palestine-they find Qassem Soleimani.”
In this excerpt, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah makes clear that Palestine was the compass of Hajj Qassem’s jihadist project. Known as the “Martyr of Jerusalem,” a title given to him by the martyred head of Hamas’s Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, Hajj Qassem viewed Palestine as the meeting point of wills and resistance movements, the home of free hearts, and the central cause of the fighters of the ummah. He made no distinction among the Palestinian resistance factions, supporting them all with funding and weapons and transferring military expertise to them, until the balance of deterrence shifted and “Israel” was compelled to confront a resistance that was more capable and more organized.
Conclusion
In an Arab world collapsing and retreating day after day, and an Islamic world largely indifferent to its major existential causes; in a world where American arrogance tightened its grip and “Israel” ran rampant—occupying land and violating sanctities- Palestine and its resistance, along with all the resistance movements of the region, stood at the very center of the concerns of the martyred Hajj Qassem Soleimani. He emerged as a leader without equal, siding with the oppressed and with those who hold the land and the right, daring to confront forces that many cannot dare to face: the American hegemon and its “Israeli” protégé. It was therefore inevitable that they would seek to eliminate him—and they did. Yet the flame of Hajj Qassem is not extinguished by storms, nor can his memory be worn away by time.
