The United State’s successful killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani is a devastating loss for the Islamic Republic of Iran. The country has, for some time, engaged in bullying across the region, and his death could have severe consequences for its future.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei relied on Soleimani as his main asset in responding to the U.S.’s maximum pressure campaign, which used economic sanctions to punish Iranian aggression. Furthermore, Soleimani’s death may cause a power vacuum within the Quds Forces and militia groups he established and backed.

He may prove impossible to truly replace. Soleimani was famous for operating alone, based on his personal relations with forces loyal to him and his financial networks inside and outside of Iran. Thus, he has no real successor, and this poses a real threat to Iran’s influence.

Moreover, Soleimani was Khamenei’s most important foreign minister and the main figure responsible for Tehran’s policies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and Palestine. He was the architect and enforcer of Iran’s “Shia Crescent” strategy, personally appointing ambassadors to the capitals across the region.

Furthermore, Soleimani was Iran’s most important commander, even more central than the commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian army. He was Khamenei’s most trusted ally and Iran’s most vital strategist in terms of confronting America, Israel, and Gulf countries. The regime has not seen such a loss in its history, and Soleimani’s death has caused an immense shock and panic among the Iranian establishment.

Hence the Iranian officials’ attempts to galvanize support inside the country for "revenge" against the U.S. However, ordinary Iranians have a very different view than the regime on the death of Soleimani. The Iranian people have suffered because of his diversion of much-needed resources for domestic issues to fomenting instability in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria instead.

The regime, its supporters, and their proxies portray Soleimani as a martyr, an icon, and a commander of the “Axis of Resistance.” On the other hand, ordinary Iranians and many others in the region know him as a murderous and brutal killer responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Iran and across the region.

While Iranian regime affiliates and state media describe Soleimani as “Iran’s Che Guevara, the love of the Supreme Leader and Iran lover,” many ordinary Iranians have celebrated his death . Iranians on social media have been thanking President Trump by posting photos and videos of their happiness and using hashtags mocking Soleimani. Moreover, Syrians have also been celebrating the death of Soleimani , seeing him as the main person responsible for the devastating Syrian civil war and the death of Syrian children.

Mana Nistani, an Iranian cartoonist’s view on the killing of Qasem Soleimani.



Mass majority of Iranians hated Qasem Soleimani as he was brutal against people not just in Iran but also across the region. pic.twitter.com/53RcgvNdxJ — Raman Ghavami (@Raman_Ghavami) January 3, 2020

Soleimani might be described as a hero by the Iranian regime and its affiliates, but ordinary Iranians know that Soleimani was a murderer. His death has given hope to people in Iran who want to see the end of the regime.

Raman Ghavami (@Raman_Ghavami) is an analyst based in London and the Middle East. He is currently working for a consultancy firm based in the United Kingdom with a focus on insurgency and counterinsurgency.