On Saturday, Iranian media highlighted statements from two daughters of the late Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s covert operations, firmly denying any familial ties to two Iranian women recently detained in the United States. This development comes after the US State Department announced the arrest of a niece and a grand-niece of Soleimani, who were reportedly stripped of their US residency rights.
The US authorities identified the niece as Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, though the name of her daughter was not disclosed. However, Zeinab Soleimani, one of Qassem Soleimani’s daughters, publicly refuted the US claims, stating that the individuals arrested in America have no relation to their family. She described the allegations as falsehoods propagated by the US government.
Meanwhile, Narjes Soleimani, another daughter and a member of Tehran’s Islamic City Council, reinforced this position by asserting that neither any member of the Soleimani family nor their relatives have ever lived in the United States. This statement directly challenges the narrative presented by the US State Department regarding the detained women’s identities.
Qassem Soleimani was a prominent Iranian general who commanded the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ foreign operations division. His death occurred in January 2020 when a US drone strike targeted him in Baghdad, Iraq, during the final year of President Donald Trump’s first term. The incident significantly escalated tensions between the US and Iran, and the recent arrests have once again brought Soleimani’s legacy into the spotlight amid ongoing geopolitical complexities.
