Section Five: Friendships, Enmities, Betrayals – Who Stood by Him and Who Sold Out? «Part Two»
Political Section
2. Figures Who Stood Behind Haj Qasem and Those Who Pretended to Accompany Him
Throughout the life of Sardar Soleimani, many individuals and groups genuinely and sincerely stood by him. Among these figures one can point to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, who was not only Soleimani’s commander and guide but also shared a deep spiritual relationship with him. Soleimani himself repeatedly said that obedience to the Leader was not merely a duty but an honor.
Other prominent figures who stood alongside him included fighters and commanders of the resistance axis, such as Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah. Nasrallah and Soleimani enjoyed a very close relationship and cooperated closely in many important operations, such as the 2006 thirty-three-day war in Lebanon. Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi), the Fatemiyoun, the Zainabiyoun, and other resistance groups were also among those who stood with Soleimani in sincerity; they viewed him not only as their commander but also as a brother and role model.
Opposite them, however, there were people who falsely presented themselves as allies of Soleimani and the resistance axis. Some politicians and regional groups—especially in Iraq and Lebanon—publicly expressed support for Sardar Soleimani while privately pursuing personal interests or succumbing to pressure from foreign powers, thereby distancing themselves from the resistance’s goals. These individuals sometimes used ambiguous statements or covert actions to weaken Soleimani’s or the resistance axis’s position. For example, certain political groups in Iraq that outwardly cooperated with the Popular Mobilization Forces occasionally passed sensitive information to foreign forces or adopted political stances contrary to the interests of the resistance. With his insight, Soleimani identified these people and, with cunning, kept them away from sensitive decision-making circles.
3. A Review of the Soft and Severe Betrayals That Led to the Martyrdom of Sardar Lieutenant General Haj Qasem Soleimani
The tragic and treacherous assassination of the beloved commander, Lieutenant General Haj Qasem Soleimani, was the direct result of a drone strike carried out by U.S. terrorist forces on the dawn of 13 Dey 1398 (3 January 2020) at Baghdad International Airport. Yet behind this overt attack lay a complex, organized chain of soft and hard betrayals without which the operation to assassinate this strategic figure of the resistance would not have succeeded in this form.
The soft betrayals included the disclosure of sensitive information, the infiltration of spies, and the cooperation of certain individuals and groups inside with Western and Israeli intelligence services. According to multiple confirmed reports, precise information about the time and location of Haj Qasem Soleimani’s presence in Baghdad reached the United States through the penetration of espionage networks within Iraq’s security and political structures. This security penetration—whose links extended around Baghdad Airport and even among the guards close to Hashd al-Shaabi and some government officials—allowed the enemy to plan and coordinate the attack with unprecedented precision. Regrettably, some of these individuals publicly claimed to support the resistance and the Iraqi people, while in private they continued to cooperate with Western intelligence services in covert ways.
On the level of more severe betrayals, certain regional governments that maintained diplomatic and economic ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran, while in practice cooperating with the United States and Israel on security and intelligence matters, indirectly facilitated and prepared the ground for this terrorist operation. These states, by producing insecure environments, aiding espionage activities, and even coordinating with Western governments, made it possible for such state terrorism to occur.
Furthermore, some political groups and factions within Iraq—under intense pressure from Washington—took destructive actions that weakened the Popular Mobilization Forces and the commanders of the resistance, contributing to security and political vacuums which the enemies of the resistance were able to exploit. These currents, which at times portrayed themselves as aligned with the resistance, in practice undermined popular institutions and disrupted the cohesion of resistance forces, thereby creating opportunities for the enemy’s plans to succeed.
Moreover, the betrayals and traitors who enabled U.S. drones to enter Damascus and Baghdad airports constituted the final links in the chain of this operation. Intelligence reports from the resistance axis indicate that some limited security elements at those airports cooperated with Western and Israeli intelligence services and played a key role in guiding and coordinating the terrorist strike.
Sardar Lieutenant General Haj Qasem Soleimani had repeatedly warned of this sensitive matter and cautioned that the enemy would seize upon any gap or opportunity to strike the resistance. With profound insight and exceptional foresight he had declared: “Our enemies sometimes enter under the guise of friendship and strike us from within our ranks.” His deep awareness and constant vigilance kept him perpetually watchful and ready; nevertheless, the breadth of espionage networks, the infiltration of internal agents, and the complexity of the enemy’s operations ultimately prepared the ground for his martyrdom.
