Gholamreza Soleimani

Sardar

Gholamreza Soleimani
Born1964 (age 59–60)
Farsan, Imperial State of Iran
AllegianceRevolutionary Guard
Years of service1982–present
RankBrigadier General
Commands
Battles / warsIran–Iraq War

Gholamreza Soleimani (Persian: غلامرضا سلیمانی; born 1964) is an Iranian military officer who is a senior officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and commander of the paramilitary Basij forces.[1][2][3]

Despite the same surname, he is not related to Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force who was assassinated by the United States in January 2020.

On 12 April 2021, Soleimani was also sanctioned by the Council of the European Union for his role in the violent response to the November 2019 protests.[4]

On 7 December 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury added Soleimani to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list "for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Basij". Individuals on the list have their assets blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Leader appoints deputy Chief-of-Staff, Basij commander". Mehr News Agency. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Ayatollah Khamenei names new military commanders". Tehran Times. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Leader appoints new military commanders". IRNA. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  4. ^ Emmott, Robin (2021-04-12). "EU sanctions elite Iran commander, seven others over 2019 protests". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  5. ^ "Global Magnitsky Designation; Iran-related Designations; Syria Designations; CAATSA - Iran-related Designations". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  6. ^ "Treasury Targets Repression and the Undermining of Democracy". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2021-12-23.