Iran's Foreign Ministry: Reports of Qassem Soleimani's Injury Are False

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Arab-African Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, denied reports on Thursday regarding the injury of Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to IRNA, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran stated, "General Soleimani is in perfect health and this news is not true." The news of Soleimani's injury in the city of Samarra due to a suicide attack by the group known as 'Islamic State' was published by the 'Algemeiner' website, citing Israeli television, and was also reflected on the Arabic-language Al Arabiya website. The city of Samarra, located 110 kilometers north of Baghdad, is considered predominantly Sunni and houses some sacred sites for Shia Muslims. The Islamic State group, formerly known as ISIS, has intensified its attacks to seize this city since last month. Some Iranian media reported on January 21 the death of an Iranian commander present in Iraq named 'Mahdi Norouzi' from the 'Command Council of the Martyr Timuri-Nia Basij Base in Kermanshah' in Samarra, referring to him as a 'defender of the shrine.' The Associated Press recently reported that Qassem Soleimani has spent most of the past seven months commanding militias and coordinating tactical efforts with government forces on the front lines in Iraq. Commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claim they have sent 'military advisors' to Iraq to assist the Iraqi government in battles against the Islamist militants of the 'Islamic State.' Iranian officials have previously described the holy cities of Iraq, including Najaf, Karbala, Samarra, and Kadhimayn, as Iran's 'red line' in direct confrontation with the ISIS group.