General Suleimani’s words and actions are closely scrutinized because he is regarded as one of Iran’s most cunning and autonomous military figures, in charge of its intelligence gathering and covert military operations. “His fire-breathing retort to Trump is important and worrisome,” said Cliff Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy in Washington. “Suleimani is directly mocking the U.S. president, and he lambastes U.S. policy,” Mr. Kupchan said. “Suleimani is telling Trump to watch his words, reminding him that Iran has both power across the Middle East and potent capability for asymmetric warfare. The general is known to have the personal backing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is believed to be the chief strategist behind Iran’s military ventures and influence in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the region and beyond.

Source: New York Times July 26, 2018 22:41 UTC