A new film called 72 hours is being shown in Iran on the eve of the anniversary of Qasem Soleimani’s death. Soleimani was the head of the Quds Force of the Iranian IRGC. He was a key military figure for Iran and also a figure in Iran’s strategic role in the region. He held talks with Russia and groups such as Hezbollah to coordinate actions with Iran over the last decade. The new movie will now detail his importance.
The US killed Soleimani in January 2020. This has shifted Iran’s role in the region because Soleimani was of such great importance that his death marked a setback for Tehran’s policies. However, Iran still has made impressive gains in the last two years. It has developed drones and used them to strike at US forces in Iraq, Syria and off the coast of Oman. This means that Iran has shifted slightly from personal diplomatic-military achievements to technological threats.
Iran wants its people and the region to know of Soleimani’s importance. For Iran, he is a key martyr. Iranian media have been emphasizing over the last weeks the role that Soleimani played in defeating ISIS. Iran wants to ignore the fact that many have accused Soleimani of crimes in Syria and Iraq and of terrorizing the region. For Iran’s regime he is no “terrorist” though, but a sublime figure.
“This documentary is a new and unpublished narrative of the 72 hours leading up to the martyrdom of Haj Qasem Soleimani,” the report says. It has taken two years to make and will be shown for the first time. It tells the story of the three days of his life leading up to the assassination near Baghdad International Airport. It is not yet known if any important details will be revealed in the film or if there is any reference to Israel or other activities of Soleimani in Syria.