An Iranian general released a photo on social media with an apparent threat to the United States.
Qassem Soleimani, a general of a special forces unit in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), posted a photo last month to his Instagram account depicting the White House exploding, according to a Thursday report by the Memri Cyber & Jihad Lab.
The photo showed Soleimani holding a walkie-talkie before the White House while it explodes. A caption accompanying the photo read: “We will crush the USA under our feet.”
New CJL Report: IRGC Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, Designated By U.S. Treasury Dept., Is Active On Instagram; Posts Include Image Of White House Exploding https://t.co/9jP83VDsQ5 pic.twitter.com/ui8WA2is6z
— Steve Stalinsky (@SteveStalinsky) August 17, 2018
Soleimani has waged threats against the United States, and was identified in connection with an assassination plot against Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. He is an active user of Instagram, where he often posts threats aimed at the U.S.
Soleimani and his Quds Force are on a blacklist of the United Nations, and a subject of sanctions from the U.S. over their support of terrorism, and Soleimani’s individual classification as a terrorist.
A photo posted July 30 showed Soleimani speaking before a podium, accompanied by the caption: “Mr. Trump, the Gambler! Don’t threaten our lives! You are well aware of our power and capabilities in the region. You know how powerful we are in asymmetrical warfare.”
In a statement responding to a tweet President Trump made in July about Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Soleimani also said: “Know that we are near you, in places that don’t come to your mind. We are near you in places that you can’t even imagine. We are a nation of martyrdom… You know that a war would mean the loss of all your capabilities. You may start the war, but we will be the ones to determine its end.”
U.S. Central Command General Joseph Votel has spoken out about Soleimani, describing him as “an individual who is perpetrating a lot of Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region,” according to an Asharq Al-Awsat report on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Votel said on Twitter: “It is clear to me that Qasem Soleimani and the IRGC Quds Force is at the heart of an expensive and expansive campaign of malign activity in the region, including in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain and Yemen. … Those malign and destabilizing activities threaten regional security and stability and are not in the best interest of the Iranian people.”
Those malign and destabilizing activities threaten regional security and stability and are not in the best interest of the Iranian people.” – General Votel
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 12, 2018
Some of Soleimani’s threats come from increased aggression against the U.S. following President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, in addition to imposing sanctions against Iran over their nuclear activities. President Trump and Iranian President Rouhani exchanged a series at one another in recent months.
