TORONTO -- The U.S. assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani will create a martyr and unify Iran鈥檚 fractious political establishment, with major repercussions on Americans in the region, according to an expert on Iran鈥檚 Revolutionary Guard.
Narges Bajoghli spent a decade studying the Revolutionary Guard, a branch of Iran鈥檚 armed forces, and wrote the book, 鈥淚ran Reframed: Anxieties of Power in the Islamic Republic.鈥�
鈥淲hat the United States has achieved with this is creating -- internally within Iran and among Shia groups in Iraq and Lebanon -- a martyr out of Soleimani. He鈥檚 going to become an even larger figure in death than he was in life,鈥� said Bajoghli, an assistant professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
鈥淭here is a reason why Soleimani was not assassinated in the past by U.S. administration when they had the ability to do so 鈥� Part of that is the repercussions that would come with such an assassination on U.S. forces and troops and personnel within the region.鈥�
She said Soleimani was seen as a national hero to Iranians because he was largely seen as the person responsible for keeping ISIS at bay.
Bajoghli questioned the strategic purpose of the U.S. attack and said the death of Soleimani, who was close to Iran鈥檚 supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will not disrupt the network and relationships the group has established within the region.
鈥淭he Revolutionary Guard functions in an ad hoc way,鈥� Bajoghli told CTV鈥檚 News Channel.
While the general was extremely important and his death significant, there are many leaders within the Revolutionary Guard who have had the ability for years to make strategic decisions and have their own relationships with Shia counterparts in Iraq and Lebanon, she said. That network was built on decades of relationships across the borders and is not reliant on Soleimani, she added.
Bojoghli said Iran will likely take its time to figure out how to best respond to the attack, but with another deadly airstrike in Iraq less than 24 hours later, things could change quickly.
鈥淭his situation can escalate very, very quickly. Forces, especially within Iraq, will want to retaliate -- and retaliate fairly fast,鈥� she said.
鈥淎t this point, any and all Americans in the Middle East can be potential targets.鈥�
With files from The Associated Press
