BEIRUT, LEBANON (1:00 P.M.) – The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, Major General Qassem Soleimani, told Iranian state TV on Wednesday that he was present in Lebanon during the 34-day-long Hezbollah-Israel War in 2006.
During the 90-minute-long interview, Soleimani detailed his role in advising Hezbollah as they faced off against the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
The Quds Force commander said he was entrenched with the Hezbollah military commander at the time, Imad Moughniyeh, who was later assassinated in Damascus by Israel in 2008.
He would detail how he and Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah barely escaped a bomb that struck the Lebanese group’s operations room in Beirut’s southern suburbs
However, Soleimani said he was not deterred after the attack, as he remained inside of Lebanon for much of the war.
Soleimani’s interview marked the first time that the commander of the Quds Force discussed his role during the 2006 War.
The Quds Force commander has played a major role in several regional conflicts since 2006; these include the Iraq War (2003-2010) and Syrian Conflict (2011-Present).
