It will take time to fill Qasem Soleimani’s shoes, Yaakov Amidror says

Former Israeli National Security Advisor IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror was speaking during a phone briefing organized by The Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).

By OMRI NAHMIAS
Qasem Soleimani, commander of IRGC Quds Force (photo credit: SAYYED SHAHAB-O-DIN VAJEDI/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Qasem Soleimani, commander of IRGC Quds Force
(photo credit: SAYYED SHAHAB-O-DIN VAJEDI/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
WASHINGTON – “Soleimani was very centralized and he held details for so many operations,” former Israeli National Security adviser IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror said on Monday. “It will take time for his deputy to go and enter his shoes.”
Speaking during a phone briefing organized by The Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), Amidror said it could take Soleimani’s successor a few months to learn the operation.
“It will take time before anyone [in Iran] will have the same capabilities that Soleimani had,” Amidror said. “They will have to cancel or to postpone some of the operations that they had in mind. I think that we will feel a bit of hesitation in the first few months, but it will not change the policy of the Iranians – and the Iranians will continue to push from Iraq into Syria.”
Amidror spoke amid reports that indicated a possible withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, saying if the Americans are indeed pulling out, the Iranians would focus on building their capabilities inside the country.
“If the rumors about American retreat from Iraq [are true], it would be a huge success for the Iranians,” he said.
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper clarified later on Monday the US has no plan of leaving Iraq at this time.
Amidror also discussed the prospects of possible Iranian retaliation, saying that the Iranians are not in a hurry to retaliate.
“It can take time. It’s a big system,” he said. “There will be a [debate] between those who are more revenge-driven and those who will hesitate because they don’t want to go for another war with America.
“They could look for [an opportunity] in the future – and if they find one, they will have to make a decision whether they will use it,” he concluded.