Trump correctly gambled that Iran can’t afford a major war and won’t really retaliate for the Soleimani hit.
Analyzing the contours of the memory of Soleimani clearly shows that most of the Iranian population is neither interested in his assassination nor in his “revolutionary” legacy.
The killing of Soleimani brought the United States and Iran to the brink of armed conflict after Iran retaliated by firing missiles at American targets in Iraq several days later.
Qatar has been involved in a spat with neighboring Saudi Arabia since 2017 and it has drifted to be closer to Iran and also the pro-Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Ankara.
The non-state actors, who don’t receive any external support financially nor politically, are given ample assistance in both categories.
In an interview with a close friend of Soleimani who accompanied him on various visits to Iraq and Syria, Hasan Flark revealed that Bashar Assad was on the verge of giving up his reign in Syria.
Iran’s former defense minister on how Soleimani confronted “Zionists,” ISIS and helped persuade Russia on the importance of Syria. “He was more than a commander: he was a diplomat and administrator."
‘All the people of the region will carry a rifle, because this American tyrant has left no room for anyone’
This messianic creed is the raison d’être for the Islamic Republic of Iran according to its founders and leaders.
The threats reveal Tehran’s fears that the US will not stop targeting their key officials and that the US has put Iran on the back foot in its plans for the region.