TEHRAN, Iran — The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, a key figure in the battle against the Islamic State group and in Iran’s backing of Hezbollah and entrenchment in Syria, has received Iran’s highest military award, the regime’s supreme leader announces.
The major general, whose unit runs foreign operations, is regarded as the mastermind of Iran’s military strategy in the region.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei awards him with the “Order of Zulfaqar,” the leader’s office tweets. Soleimani became the first to receive the award since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to Tasnim news agency.
In Islamic tradition, Zulfaqar is the name of the double-pointed sword said to have been given by Prophet Mohammed to his son-in-law Ali.
— AFP
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