During the war with neighbouring Iraq between 1980 and 1988,the Revolutionary Guard had gained political and economic power in the country and the bloody and brutal war in Iraq also helped shape Soleimani.
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Though only in his twenties,he undertook missions behind enemy lines,the sort of irregular warfare that would one day become the calling card of the Quds Force.
He also found allies among Iraq's majority Shiite population,some of whom backed Iran against the Sunni-dominated dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.
In the late 1990s,Soleimani was given control of the Quds Force,the wing of the Revolutionary Guards devoted to external affairs. Though the group had a lengthy history,having helped establish Hezbollah in Lebanon in the early 1980s,under Soleimani's watch it would expand its influence in the region.
After the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies ousted Saddam,the Quds Force began to aid Iranian militias in the country as they fought against American troops. A recent Pentagon estimate argued that Iranian proxy forces had killed at least 608 US troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.
Later,the Syrian civil war saw a massive intervention by the Quds Force that helped sway the battle in favour of President Bashar al-Assad,a regional ally of Tehran's.
Soleimani's influence was most keenly felt in the Middle East,but his practical ambitions were not regionally bound. The Quds Force was linked to plots in Asia and Latin America;even one failed 2011 attempt to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States at an Italian restaurant in Georgetown.
After President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and other world powers,the Quds Force found itself at the centre of rapidly escalating tension with the United States.
Tensions rose in the Strait of Hormuz over attacks on a US drone and on oil ships and blame flew in both directions. The US later blamed a drone attack on a Saudi oil plant on Iran.
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In Iraq,Shiite militias harassed US troops,firing rockets at bases used by Americans. After one attack in late December killed a US contractor,the United States launched airstrikes against bases along the border with Syria used by the group Kataib Hezbollah,killing 25 militia members and injuring more than 50.
On New Year's Eve,Shiite militias and their supporters stormed the US Embassy compound in Baghdad. Though no one was killed in the chaos,Trump warned that Iran bore responsibility for the act."They will be held fully responsible,"he tweeted.
The airstrike on Friday morning killed not only Soleimani,but also Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis,an Iraqi militia commander.
Analysts agreed that Soleimani was a unique figure and likely irreplaceable for the Iranian regime. But after the shock news of his death,some wondered what effect killing such a revered figure would have on the region.
"The pressure to retaliate will be immense,"Vali Nasr,an expert on the Middle East and a professor at Johns Hopkins University,observed on Twitter.
Joyce Karam,an adjunct professor at George Washington University and contributor toThe National in the United Arab Emirates,said retaliation from Iran could come in many forms,including attacks on US bases in Gulf states,on Us assets in Gulf Waters,on oil companies,American embassies and Israel among others.