Qassem Soleimani: The architect of the Iranian resistance alliance whose death shook the ‘fiery siege around Israel’
Khashyar Junaidi and Farzad Sifekran
BBC Persian
January, 03, 2025
Five years ago on January 3, during Trump’s presidency, Qassem Soleimani was killed by US forces in Baghdad. Qassem Soleimani was the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, the branch of the Revolutionary Guards that carries out operations on foreign soil. Qassem Soleimani was one of the founders of Iranian influence and military strategy in the region.
Three months before he was targeted by a US drone on January 3, 2020, Qassem Soleimani had spoken in a secret speech to the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards about expanding the resistance alliance “by whatever standard.”
It seems as if Qassem Soleimani had anticipated his death and wanted to present a report on his two decades at the helm of the Quds Force. He said in this speech that ‘the Revolutionary Guards have developed the resistance in terms of quality and quantity, expanding from an area of 2,000 square kilometers in southern Lebanon to 500,000 square kilometers.’
Qassem Soleimani had said that ‘land connections have been established between the resistance, that is, Iran has been connected to Iraq, Iraq to Syria, and Syria to Lebanon. Today, you can leave Tehran in your car and reach the southern suburbs of Beirut.’
This unity of resistance was seen as Qassem Soleimani’s major achievement, but in the past year, this unity has suffered a serious setback.
The idea that could change the Middle East
The expansion of Iranian influence in the region began in the early 1980s when Tehran helped establish Hezbollah in Lebanon against the United States and Israel.
Later, due to instability in the region, the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, and in 2011, following instability in the Arab world, extremist groups like the Islamic State emerged, giving Iran an opportunity to expand its influence.
Qassem Soleimani said, “Today you can leave Tehran in your car and reach the southern suburbs of Beirut.”
The deployment of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, and the military groups in Lebanon, including Iraq, created a land and regional connection from Iran’s border to Lebanon that reached all the way to the Israeli border.
Daniel Subalman is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He believes that such a regional connection was not possible before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. According to him, “the Iraq war enabled Iran to connect the dots, to create a path through Iraq, Syria and from there to Lebanon.”
“This was very important because Hezbollah in Lebanon was Iran’s most important ally in the region.”
On the other hand, the civil war in Yemen has led to the capture of several cities by rebels who were close to Iran.
“Israel’s fiery encirclement”
In recent years, the resistance alliance has also become a symbol of unity between Shia and some Sunni groups, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whose goal is to block Western and Israeli influence in the Middle East.
This alliance, which includes Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, has become a powerful weapon in the hands of Iran. Without this alliance, Bashar al-Assad’s government would likely have fallen long ago.
This alliance has thus established a “fiery encirclement” around Israel. Meanwhile, the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have further strengthened Tehran’s position and the resistance alliance.
During Trump’s first presidency, US National Security Advisor John Bolton said that “Iran has successfully expanded its military power while expanding the alliance.” According to him, “Iran has done a very serious job of building the resistance alliance, which Qassem Soleimani called the Ring of Fire strategy around Israel.”
“They have invested billions of dollars, starting with Hezbollah in Lebanon. If you look at Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, they have achieved very significant successes.”
The Decline of Iranian Influence
Five years ago, Trump ordered the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, laying the foundation for the decline of the Iranian resistance coalition. Now that Trump is back in the White House, Iran is at its weakest in the region in two decades.
During his last presidency, Trump put a lot of pressure on Iran, including the reimposition of tough sanctions and the withdrawal from the nuclear deal. Over the past seven years, these sanctions have increased economic pressure on Iran. The death of Qassem Soleimani and the pressure it has exerted have weakened Iran’s role.
From left to right: Revolutionary Guards’ Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Hassan Nasrallah, Qassem Soleimani and Hezbollah advisor Samir Tawfiq – all of whom have been killed in Israeli or US strikes
However, more problems arose after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The killing of Hamas leaders and the reduction of Hamas’s military strength in Gaza, as well as the killing of several commanders in Beirut, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, have hurt Iran’s ability to counter Israel.
According to Dr. Daniel Sobelman, “The damage to Hezbollah’s military machinery, which was Iran’s most powerful arm, has made Israel’s long-term leverage in the region heavier.” He says that “for many years, Hezbollah had established itself as the most powerful member of the resistance coalition. Now we are seeing a situation in which the survival of this alliance is being discussed, which is surprising.
According to him, ‘The resistance alliance had tipped the balance of power in favor of Iran, but now the situation has completely changed.’
On the other hand, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, which was considered ‘the main pillar of the resistance tent,’ has caused incredible damage to this Iranian alliance. John Bolton says that ‘The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which no one expected, is a huge blow to Iran, there is no doubt about that.’
According to him, ‘Hezbollah also suffered because now the missiles, weapons and other equipment that used to arrive from Iran will not be able to arrive. So Hezbollah, which is facing severe pressure from Israel, is now also suffering from logistical problems.’
The future of the resistance alliance
The place where Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli attack
Many leaders of the Iranian alliance are gone and ground communications have also been severed. In such a situation, Iran is facing a difficult situation.
Apart from a few militant groups in Iraq, the Yemeni Houthi rebels are currently the only ones left in the region, but they are also under attack from the United States and Israel.
Despite billions of dollars of investment by Iran and the bloodshed of millions of people, the alliance that was once considered powerful in the region is now under extraordinary difficulties.
With Trump's return, it seems that if no agreement is reached between Iran and the United States, the White House may turn its attention to China and Iraq so that Iran does not get the profits it earns from oil.
Regarding the situation in the Middle East, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in December that “the more pressure is put on the resistance, the more determined it will be.”
He said that “the resistance alliance will expand more than before.” His statement indicates that Iran is serious about restoring this alliance and reestablishing its lost contacts.
According to former Israeli military intelligence officer Ibrahim Levin, “the determination for revenge in the resistance alliance is at its peak.” According to him, “Despite losing Syria, Iran will try to gain access, perhaps by establishing contact with the current leader, and trying to get permission to use Syrian soil.”
Dr. Sobelman believes that the current situation in the Middle East is important for political innovation. "Perhaps there is an opportunity to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he says.
"Politicians should use this time to assess the consequences of the war and consider alternative paths for a better future in the region."
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#Iran #Hamas #General_Qassem_Soleimani #Israel #War
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