Washington: Iranian Quds Force official's visit to Russia violates UNSC resolutions

Washington stressed yesterday that head of the Iranian Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Qassem Suleimani’s visit to Russia “is considered a violation of the UN Security Council sanctions that ban him from international travel.”

US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said that the US Secretary of State John Kerry “raised his concerns about the travel to Moscow by IRGC Commander Qassem Suleiman” to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during a phone call between the two yesterday.

Suleiman has been subject to an international travel ban and asset freeze by the UN Security Council since 2007. He has been known for his role in the war against Daesh, the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980’s, as well as other military activities in the region.

Some American media reports have said that the purpose of Suleimani’s visit to Russia last week was to participate in discussions to find a solution to end the conflict between opposition forces and the Syrian regime. This was after the Russia government invited the national coalition of Syrian revolutionary and opposition forces to visit Moscow in order to discuss the matter.