348: Will Iran & US Go to War Over General Soleimani’s Killing? - a podcast by The Quint

from 2020-01-03T13:55:52

:: ::

General Qasem Soleimani is dead! The United States confirmed that they killed Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, in an air raid at Baghdad’s international airport in Iraq, on 2 January. Iran has sworn revenge for his death, and the two countries may well be on the brink of war.

But what makes one man so valuable?

"To Middle Eastern Shiites, he is James Bond, Erwin Rommel and Lady Gaga rolled into one,"

That’s a quote about Soleimani from Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2017.

"To the West, he is... responsible for exporting Iran's Islamic revolution, supporting terrorists, subverting pro-Western governments and waging Iran's foreign wars,"

Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini has called Soleimani a martyr, and promised “vigorous revenge for the criminals”.

Has the US crossed a line and triggered events that are well beyond its control? Will the US and Iran go to war?

And who exactly is General Qasem Soleimani?

Guests: Kabir Taneja, Fellow & Head of West Asia Initiative, Observer Research Foundation

Khemta Jose, International Affairs Correspondent, The Quint

Host & Producer: Vishnu Gopinath

Editor: Khemta Jose

Further episodes of The Big Story

Further podcasts by The Quint

Website of The Quint