Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who since 1998 has commanded Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) extra-territorial special forces unit, the Qods Force, was designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in October 2011 for connection to a plot to assassinate Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir.
Earlier, in May 2011, he was also designated under Executive Order 13572, which focuses on human-rights abuses in Syria, for his role as IRGC-QF commander, and in July 2005 under E.O. 13382 for his relationship to the IRGC.
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.”
Instagram’s Terms and Conditions include a list of Community Guidelines, which state: “Instagram is not a place to support or praise terrorism, organized crime, or hate groups. … We can remove any content or information you share on the Service if we believe that it violates these Terms of Use, our policies (including our Instagram Community Guidelines), or we are permitted or required to do so by law.”
Soleimani’s Instagram account features image of White House exploding
Soleimani’s Instagram handle is @sardar_haj_ghasemsoleimani; he first posted on July 28, 2016. At the time of this writing, he had 710 posts and 69,100 followers, and is following 30 accounts. His account bio reads “Major General in Iranian Army, IRGC and commander of Qods Force since 1998,” and links to his Telegram account, T.me/sardar_haj_ghasem.
On July 28, 2018, Soleimani posted a graphic of himself using a walkie-talkie in front of the White House as it explodes. Text on the photo reads: “We will crush the USA under our feet.” Soleimani’s caption on the photo reiterates: “We will crush America under our feet” and asks readers to follow the account’s Telegram channel.
Read full MEMRI report here.