Soleimani distances himself from Iranian presidential race

Top Iranian military commander, Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani, made rare comments to the Iranian media yesterday in an attempt to distance himself from the Iranian presidential race due to begin in May next year.

Soleimani, who holds command over Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, a military unit that is responsible for operations overseas, has been touted as a possible candidate for president in the media for weeks.

In order to quash any such speculation, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency publicised comments by the enigmatic general that quoted him as saying: “I am a soldier of the Guardian and the Islamic Republic regime and the brave population [of Iran]. God willing, I will remain in the role of soldier until the end of my life.”

Soleimani’s reference to the “Guardian” alludes to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is considered as the Guardian Jurist of the Iranian theocracy. Khamenei exercises absolute authority and power over Iranian domestic and foreign policy, reigning supreme over even the president.

According to the general, Iran’s enemies were plotting against the Islamic Republic by attempting to foment divisions, and urged Iranians “to ignore the deceptive and divisive comments of the enemy and not allow the valuable time of servants of this nation to be spent” on responding to speculation.

Although Soleimani has been blacklisted by the US as one of the foremost facilitators of international terrorism, Iranians view him as the country’s most prominent defender against regional rivals and Sunni militant groups such as Daesh.

Bloomberg reported that the IRGC commander enjoyed the adoration of 76 per cent of his fellow countrymen, adding that a book of the general’s speeches and war memoirs sold out a week after it was published.

Soleimani has been the commander of the Quds Force since the late 1990s. In his early military career, he helped in the suppression of Kurdish militants in Iran’s northwest, and also fought against Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War that began in 1980 and lasted almost eight years.