DID Press: American political analyst and author Daniel Lazare says Qassem Soleimani’s role in fighting ISIS and strengthening the so-called “Axis of Resistance” posed a direct challenge to the interests of the United States and Israel, making the Iranian commander a central target of the Trump administration’s aggressive regional strategy.
Lazare, a U.S.-based writer and commentator on international affairs, argued that Soleimani’s activities across the region — particularly in countering ISIS and al-Qaeda — were viewed in Washington and Tel Aviv as a strategic threat.
He noted that Soleimani helped consolidate a pro-Iran network including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Syrian government, Iraqi militia groups and Iran’s own defense structure. “From Soleimani’s perspective this network promoted regional stability,” Lazare said. “But Washington saw it as destabilizing because it conflicted with the interests of Israel and Saudi Arabia.”
Assessing the U.S. decision to assassinate Soleimani and the broader policy context, Lazare said the Trump administration defined “regional stability, security and international credibility” in ways that largely equated to American and Israeli dominance. According to him, the message from Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was clear: any actor crossing their declared red lines would face swift and severe retaliation.
The strike on Soleimani was intended to weaken the entire Axis of Resistance and was followed by continued pressure campaigns — including the war in Gaza, pressure on Hezbollah, efforts to undermine the Syrian government, and repeated attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, Lazare added.
Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed along with eight others in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad airport on 3 January 2020, an operation ordered directly by then-president Donald Trump. Days later, Iran launched missiles at the U.S. Ain al-Asad base in Iraq in retaliation.
Daniel Lazare is an independent American journalist and the author of three books on U.S. politics: America’s Undeclared Wars, The Velvet Coup, and The Frozen Republic.
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