TerrorismHow Qassem Soleimani Expanded, Managed Iran's Proxies in the Middle East

The Iranian general who was killed last week in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, along with several Iranian-backed Iraqi militia leaders, was instrumental in expanding Iran’s influence and reach beyond its borders through various proxy groups in the region.

Soleimani’s unique skills crafting Iran’s regional policy were rewarded in 1998 by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, when he appointed him commander of the elite Quds Force, the external arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terror organization.

Soleimani’s new job put him in direct contact with Tehran’s proxy forces across the Middle East. In addition to strengthening Iran’s alliance with powerful Shi’ite armed forces in the region such as Hezbollah, Soleimani helped forge new alliances in other countries.

To that end, the Arab Spring and the subsequent rise of Islamic State in 2014 in Iraq and Syria offered a new opportunity for Iran to push forward with its agenda in the region by forming and managing sectarian armed forces in both countries and beyond.

“For Soleimani, he had to go out there and pick the people who would be militarily most loyal and more effective,” said Phillip Smyth, a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Networks
Smyth, who authored the Shi’ite Militia Mapping Project in 2019, told VOA that Soleimani relied on formal and informal relations to build his network of pro-Iranian Shi’ite militias that would answer directly to the IRGC.

In an attempt to increase Iranian military activity in the region following Soleimani’s death, Khamenei on Tuesday approved legislation to add more than $200 million to the Quds Force’s defense budget.

Hezbollah
The Shi’ite Lebanese militant group is considered the most powerful Iranian proxy in the Middle East. Founded in early 1980s, the group has built a significant armed wing, which has been responsible for many attacks against American and Israeli targets in the region. 

During the Syrian civil war which started in 2011, Hezbollah played a key role in recapturing major cities and towns from Syrian rebels, including Homs and Aleppo. The group is reportedly in control of many parts of the Syria-Lebanon border.

Under the command of the Quds Force, Hezbollah has managed smaller Iranian-backed militia groups that have been active in Syria.

Experts say that over the years, Hezbollah has become so reliable for Iran that it has been assigned to carry out strategic tasks throughout the region.