The shadowy head of Iran's elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, gave an insight on his role in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, in a rare interview broadcast Tuesday on state television.
The 90-minute interview was presented as the first of its kind with Gen Soleimani, top commander of the Revolutionary Guards branch that runs foreign operations.
Gen Soleimani said he spent almost the entire duration of the 34-day conflict in Lebanon, which he entered from Syria alongside Imad Moughnieh, a commander of the Iran-backed Shiite movement Hezbollah who was assassinated in 2008.
The 2006 war killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
Apart from a one-day mission back to Iran "one week" into the war to report to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and return with a message for Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, Soleimani said he remained in Lebanon to oversee the fight.
He also recounted how, under massive Israeli bombardment of Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, he and Moughnieh evacuated Nasrallah from his "operations room" where they were based.
According to his account, after ferrying Nasrallah to safety, he and Moughnieh returned to the command centre.
The broadcast of the interview, carried out by Khamenei's office, comes days after it published a photo allegedly showing Nasrallah next to Khamenei and Soleimani, in an apparent recent meeting between the three in Tehran.
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
Killing of Qassem Suleimani