The Death of Qassem Soleimani and its Effects on Iran’s National Strategy

Abstract

This thesis seeks to answer the question of how Qassem Soleimani’s death in 2020 affected Iran’s national strategy. Soleimani’s death at the hands of the U.S. was an important moment in U.S.-Iran relations, and it was a monumental loss for Iran which leaned so heavily on this one man to implement the country’s strategy throughout the Middle East. To understand Iran today and the role Soleimani played, one must understand general Iranian history and the role Shi’ism has within it, to include Ayatollah Khomeini’s implementation of velayat-e faqih during the 1979 revolution. This thesis seeks to give the reader the essential knowledge in these areas while consistently addressing the research question throughout. The research primarily used a qualitative approach in its methodology and made inferences based on scholarly books and articles, interviews with Iran experts, and primary sources such as the IRGC’s constitution. There was a distinct gap in literature on the importance of Soleimani’s death and how it is distinctly tied to Iranian history and its current strategy. Soleimani’s death not only negatively affected Iran’s primary means of deterrence through proxy warfare without its leader who navigated the complex relationships that held it together, but it forced Iran to reevaluate its other alternatives in deterring the west. Iran has looked east to Russia and China for greater support and relationships while also strongly considering the ultimate deterrent of a nuclear weapon; the effect of one man’s death may seem surprising to westerners, but Soleimani’s unique role in Iran caused his loss to be strategic one for Iran.