Soleimani's Successor: We Are Seeking Commanders to Impose Iran's Will in the Syrian War

The deputy commander of the Quds Force, the overseas branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, stated that this year will determine the 'fate' of the Syrian war, emphasizing the need for commanders who can impose the Islamic Republic's 'will' on its 'enemies.' Ismail Qaani made these remarks during a conference on 'Leadership and Management Models' dedicated to the late Iranian commander Hossein Hamadani, who was killed in Syria, at Imam Hussein University. He described the Syrian civil war as a 'very fundamental' conflict that requires 'very resilient and strong' individuals who are 'present on the battlefield and put all their dignity on the line for this war.' Qaani declared this year as the 'year of determining the fate of the Syrian war,' but added that 'this war continues and is not going to end with the events in Syria and Iraq; it is a war based on identity and existence and will continue.' He also highlighted the essential characteristics needed for commanders supporting Bashar al-Assad, stating, 'Today, we need commanders for Syria who can impose the Islamic Republic's will on the enemies.' This is one of the clearest statements regarding Iran's position in the Syrian conflict. Iranian military commanders have consistently claimed over the past five years that they entered the internal conflicts of Syria at the request of Damascus and that their presence is solely 'advisory.' Qaani explained the necessity of 'imposing Iran's will on the enemy' in Syria, saying, 'because they [the enemies] have put all their energy into breaking our will, and if our commanders did not have such resilience, they could not realize the Islamic Republic's will.' He also praised the actions of Hossein Hamadani, a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards who was killed during the Syrian conflict. According to Qaani, when Hamadani took command of the advisory forces in Syria, the situation was such that if an airplane wanted to land at Damascus airport, it would be met with mortars, and the Takfiris were shelling the presidential palace and had advanced to the Iranian embassy in Syria. Several media outlets, including The Guardian, reported after Hamadani's death in October 2015 near Aleppo that this incident indicated the increasing support of the Islamic Republic for Bashar al-Assad's regime. Qaani also described the U.S. negotiations with Iran as 'sinusoidal,' stating they did not come to the negotiating table 'for no reason; their negotiations are a sinusoidal movement, as they spread the negotiation table whenever they see they cannot make progress on the battlefield.' He added that the Americans 'whenever they realize they can achieve success on the battlefield, they push the negotiation table aside.' His remarks follow those of other military commanders in Iran who have repeatedly told nuclear negotiators and Hassan Rouhani that Iran's 'military power' forced the West, especially the United States, to sit at the negotiating table. Although Qaani claimed he does not assert that Washington 'created the Takfiris and the al-Nusra Front,' he stated that the U.S. went to create a new turmoil in Syria after they saw their paths blocked in Afghanistan and Iraq, and 'they unleashed them on the region.' He added regarding the U.S. approach to al-Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan: 'The Americans were looking to confront the Islamic Republic, and these excuses were nothing but lies.' Qaani continued that the Americans 'sent a representative to us the day they wanted to leave Iraq and informed us that they wanted to exit Iraq, and they had a request to stay.'