On May 30, 2016, the official Saudi daily 'Okaz published a scathing article attacking Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Qods Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), branding him "a war criminal" and "the No. 1 murderer" who is today conducting a war against the Sunni residents of the Islamic-State-controlled city of Fallujah in Iraq. The article, titled "Soleimani - The Arch-Terrorist Satan" and accompanied by an illustration of Soleimani atop a pile of human skulls, also criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the U.S. for, it said, not acting to deter him and allowing him to persevere in his crimes.
"Qassem Soleimani -- War Criminal"
The article was apparently triggered by Soleimani's visit last week to the predominantly Shi'ite and Iran-supported Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi forces in Fallujah, prior to the launch of the combined attack on the city; it also came amidst Saudi fears that these forces would take over the largely Sunni city.
Following are translated excerpts from the article:[1]
SUPPORT OUR WORK
"He was the No. 1 murderer in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, and even in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan. He committed the most horrendous crimes against the Sunni Muslim residents of these regions, meting out to them the harshest of punishments in order to actualize his despicable sectarian perception.
"The world is aware of the grave danger posed by [Qassem] Soleimani, whose hands are bloodstained - but what stands out is that the International Criminal Court, which indicted [Serbian president Slobodan] Milosevic and [Serbian leader Radovan] Karadzic for war crimes, still allows the greatest murderer to remain free. [It does so although] he [Soleimani] is overseeing the aiming of terrorism and the shaking of stability, peace, and security in the region and globally, and commits crimes against humanity in the name of sectarianism again and again.
"The U.S. has accused him of interfering in Iraq and undermining stability there, but has done nothing to deter him. He is a direct subordinate of the supreme commander of the IRGC [Iranian Supreme Leader] Ali Khamenei, of whom it is said that he has called Soleimani 'the living martyr of the Iranian Revolution'..."
The article then provided a brief summary of Soleimani's life, stressed that he had participated in the 1979-80 suppression of the armed Kurdish revolt in the northwestern Iranian city of Mahabad, and concluded: "The greatest sectarian Satan is [today] waging war against the residents of Fallujah, in order to divide Iraq and transform it into a submissive sectarian state."
Endnote:
[1] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), May 30, 2016.
