Zeinab Soleimani (born 1991) is the youngest daughter of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. She manages the Qasem Soleimani Foundation International. She studied political science at and graduated from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Iran. Zeinab was the liaison between Soleimani and the families of Iranian military forces who were killed in the Iran-Iraq War and in wars in Iraq, Syria, and other countries in the region. She also traveled with her father to Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon on several occasions.[1][2]
Zeinab Soleimani | |
|---|---|
زینب سلیمانی | |
 | |
| Born | 1991 (age 32–33) Tehran, Iran |
| Education | Shahid Beheshti University |
| Spouse |
Reza Safieddine (m. 2020) |
| Father | Qasem Soleimani |
| Relatives | Hashem Safieddine (father-in-law) |
Zeinab Soleimani is subject to sanctions on the Canadian Consolidated Autonomous Sanctions List.[3]
Personal life
editZeinab was born in Tehran, Iran, and is the youngest child of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[4] She spoke at her father's funeral, saying: "the families of American soldiers in West Asia will be waiting for the news of the deaths of their children."[5]
In 2019, after actress Saba Kamali called the "Blue Girl" who self-immolated to protest the Iranian laws banning females from attending sports events and entering stadiums since the Islamic Revolution more oppressed than Hussein ibn Ali (grandson of the Prophet) and his companions, Zeinab Soleimani reacted strongly on Instagram. Subsequently, Soleimani's Instagram account was blocked.[6]
Shortly after her father's death, in June 2020, she married the Lebanese Reza Safieddine, the eldest son of Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council since 2001.[7][8] The news of their marriage was first published on Instagram by the sister of Imad Mughniyeh's, the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's leadership. Unlike his father and wife, Reza Safieddine avoids interviews with the media and news cameras.[9] The timing of their marriage surprised some people in Iran, inasmuch as marriages are normally avoided in Iran before the first death anniversary of a close family member.[10]
In 2021, images of her holding an iPhone 13 Pro Max, one of the most expensive phones made by the American company Apple, at the site of her father’s killing in Baghdad on the anniversary of his targeted killing made headlines, given that she had told people not to buy American products.[11][12][13]
Political life
editZeinab Soleimani is part of the Islamic Republic of Iran's media narrative about her father. Coincidentally, her name also aligns with this content; Zeinab, the sister of Hussein ibn Ali, is known as the "messenger of Ashura" in Shia literature. Even before Qasem Soleimani's death, Zeinab was the only child of his who appeared in public. For instance, in 2016, a video of her appearance alongside Fatima Mughniyeh, daughter of Imad Mughniyeh, in a program was released.[1]
Zeinab is one of the few women who has been able to speak before the Friday prayer sermons and deliver a speech at the Tehran Friday prayer platform. She was the speaker at her father's funeral ceremony at the University of Tehran, and two weeks after her father's death, she delivered a speech before the Friday prayer sermons in Kerman while holding a weapon.[1]
Qasem Soleimani Foundation
editZeinab is the director of the "Qasem Soleimani Foundation," known as the "Haj Qasem School," which was formed after her father's assassination to preserve and publish the works of Qasem Soleimani.[14] The allocation of an 8.5 billion toman budget for this foundation in Iran's 2021 budget was criticized. Shortly after this news was published, Zeinab Soleimani wrote in a letter that she had not requested a budget.[15]
On December 6, 2020, the public relations department of the Budget and Planning Organization announced that the budget line for this foundation in 2020 was added to the text of the law by the parliament during the review of the 2020 budget in the IRGC budget section. This budget was 10 billion tomans in 2020.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c "زینب حاج قاسم"؛ مبلغ پدر و عروس حزب الله. BBC News Farsi (in Persian). 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Zeinab Soleimani". OpenSanctions.org. 1991. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Zeinab Soleimani," Canadian Consolidated Autonomous Sanctions List.
- ^ در مورد زینب سلیمانی در ویکی تابناک بیشتر بخوانید. tabnak.ir (in Persian). 6 January 2023. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ Killing the Killers; The Secret War Against Terrorists, St. Martin's Publishing Group.
- ^ در مورد زینب سلیمانی در فرارو بیشتر بخوانید. 6 January 2023. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Who is Hashem Safieddine, Hassan Nasrallah's Potential Successor?". Daraj. 1 October 2024. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024.
- ^ Siegal, Tobias (29 June 2020). "Soleimani's daughter marries Hezbollah leader Nasrallah's cousin". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020.
- ^ داماد مرموز سلیمانی که اسرائیل می‌گوید اسلحه قاچاق می‌کند، کیست؟. BBC News Farsi. 21 May 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Slain Iran Commander's Daughter Marries Son Of Senior Hezbollah Leader," Radio Farda, June 20, 2020.]
- ^ "Iran tries to turn Qassem Soleimani into a national hero," The Irish Times.
- ^ فردا, رادیو (3 January 2023). ایران واردات گوشی آیفون را ممنوع کرد. رادیو فردا. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "Zeinab soleimani", Cartoon Movement.
- ^ ردیف بودجه ۸.۵ میلیاردی سپاه برای بنیاد قاسم سلیمانی. ایندیپندنت فارسی (in Persian). 3 December 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ به نام قاسم سلیمانی؛ از کتاب و بازی کامپیوتری تا همایش 'مادران قاسم پرور'. BBC News Farsi. 26 December 2022. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ بنیاد «حاج قاسم» سال ۹۹ هم ۱۰میلیارد تومان بودجه داشت. ایندیپندنت فارسی (in Persian). 7 December 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2024.