Iran accuses US of plotting against elite forces commander

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 4

By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:

Iranian Armed Forces' Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Firouzabadi has accused the US of organizing conspiracy against the commander of the elite Qods force, Major General Qassem Soleimani.

"The US is after attacking Maj-Gen Soleimani," Tasnim news agency quoted Firouzabadi as saying.

Firuzabadi further added that several measures have been taken to protect Soleimani.

Back in November, rebel Syrian groups claimed that they targeted a car with Soleimani inside, using two missiles near Aleppo, however Iranians later dismissed the reports.

According to some media reports the elite Qods force is in charge of the IRGC's operations beyond Iranian borders and it had a considerable role in fighting against the IS terrorist group (ISIL, ISIS or Daesh).

Soleimani achieved almost a celebrity-like status among Iranian, Iraqi and Syrian Shia Muslims on social media. Many social media pages dedicated to the general have been publishing photos and videos of him on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq.

Meanwhile, reportedly the Syrian army has recently made advances after launching massive operations backed by the Russian Air Force, IRGC and Lebanon's Hezbollah against the armed opposition groups.

A UN Security Council resolution on Dec. 18 approved a draft resolution on peace process in Syria. According to the resolution, Syrian government and opposition groups should attend peace talks to find a solution for putting an end to the crisis.

However just a few days after launching the talks, the UN suspended peace talks suggesting that they will resume since Feb. 25. Syrian sides keep blaming each other for the collapse of the talks.

Over 250,000 people have died and at least 11 million have been displaced in Syria, since the crisis broke out in 2011.