The U.S. Protests Against Qassem Soleimani's Trip to Russia

The spokesperson for the U.S. State Department stated that the United States has conveyed its objections regarding the recent trip of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who is on the international sanctions list, to Russia to senior officials in that country. The U.S. also intends to raise its concerns about this trip at the United Nations and pursue the matter through the Security Council. Additionally, the U.S. concerns regarding Soleimani's trip to Russia were reflected in a phone conversation between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. According to a statement from the U.S. State Department, Mr. Kerry expressed the United States' concerns about Qassem Soleimani's trip to Moscow during this phone call, which took place on Thursday. Russia had previously denied reports about Mr. Soleimani's trip to the country. Part of the UN sanctions against Qassem Soleimani opposes his international travel. Nevertheless, according to reports, this senior and influential commander of the IRGC had previously been present in Iraq during operations to reclaim areas from the forces of the group known as the Islamic State. Images from that trip were widely circulated on social media, which had already sparked reactions and protests. Recent reports were first published on August 7, citing U.S. security and intelligence sources who said that Mr. Soleimani traveled to Russia in the last week of June and even met with the President of that country. The Kremlin denied this the following day. Mark Toner, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated on August 21 that 'we have raised [the concerns regarding] this trip with senior officials at the Russian Foreign Ministry and will soon address this matter in New York (the UN headquarters) as well.' The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. State Department is currently working to conduct investigations regarding this matter. An Iranian official had previously told Reuters that Soleimani discussed regional issues, the export of S-300 missiles, and other arms to Iran with Russian officials in Moscow. The S-300 missile defense system is one that Russia sold to Iran, but its delivery was halted due to sanctions. However, Vladimir Putin, the President of that country, recently ordered an end to the suspension of the sale of this system. It is still unclear whether this system will be delivered to Iran and when. Mark Toner stated that Russia has not yet responded to the concerns raised by Washington. In this context, the Kremlin denied a meeting between the Russian President and Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force. The U.S. is 'reviewing' reports about Qassem Soleimani's trip to Russia, stating that he traveled to Russia despite the UN ban.