Qassem Soleimani's Remarks on Negotiating with the U.S. Regarding the Middle East

The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that the Americans have had "no success" in resolving Middle Eastern issues and have realized that the Arab domain is dependent and must negotiate with the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to ISNA news agency, Qassem Soleimani said on Friday, June 7, in a gathering of some members of the 10th Parliament that the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and their "partners are currently mobilizing against Iran." He also mentioned that the U.S. has "failed" in the region following the victory of the Islamic Revolution and intends to "rebuild its power" starting from "West Asia." He emphasized that "the Americans were successful in building trust but achieved no results in resolving issues and had no success in that regard." Soleimani's statements come at a time when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has reiterated that the Islamic Republic will not negotiate with the U.S. regarding regional issues following the Vienna nuclear agreement. Khamenei had previously accused some regional countries of being "implementers of U.S. policies," facilitating U.S. influence in the region, and "betraying the Islamic nation." He has also accused Western countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., of creating the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS) to confront the Islamic Republic. Iranian officials have repeatedly accused Saudi Arabia and Turkey of supporting ISIS and have labeled the U.S.-led coalition against this group as "false." Meanwhile, Soleimani described Saudi Arabia's continued military intervention in Yemen as "sheer madness" and stated that if Saudi Arabia and its supporters had succeeded in their attack on Yemen, "a larger war would have occurred in the region." He did not elaborate further on his comments regarding the potential for a "larger war" in the region if Saudi Arabia succeeded in Yemen. He noted that "one million" military forces in Yemen support Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the "Ansar Allah" group, and predicted that "Yemen's fate will ultimately be like Afghanistan, similar to the chaos that disrupted Pakistan." The Islamic Republic's policies in the region, including in Syria and Yemen, have been in contrast to the policies of some regional countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia. While Tehran supports Bashar al-Assad, Saudi Arabia backs opposition groups against the Syrian government. In the Yemen conflict, Iran supports the Shiite Houthi militants and supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, while Saudi Arabia currently bombs Houthi positions to support the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Meanwhile, some close associates of the Islamic Republic's leader, including Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the IRGC, have frequently spoken about the "realization of Islamic civilization" and the "formation of a global Islamic community." In contrast, officials from some Islamic countries in the region, including Turkey, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, have expressed concern over Iran's expanding influence.