Iran marks five years since death of Suleimani as its influence wanes in Middle East

Thousands turned out in Iran on Thursday for ceremonies to mark five years since the assassination of Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, who died along with eight others in a US drone attack in Baghdad.

The displays of remembrance come as Iran’s influence in the Middle East wanes, with its self-proclaimed Axis of Resistance – a coalition of anti-Israel militias organised for years by Maj Gen Suleimani – reeling from military confrontations with Israel on several fronts.

Shortly after midnight on January 3, 2020, Maj Gen Suleimani arrived at Baghdad airport from Syria. He was received by Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, at the time an influential militia leader in Iraq and deputy head of its Popular Mobilisation Forces, which is mainly made up of Iran-backed militias.

As the two men and seven aides drove away from the airport, two missiles were fired from drones. One hit the entourage's vehicle, while the other missed its target. A third missile followed, striking the speeding car carrying the two leaders. Both were killed.

State-run media on Thursday aired footage showing thousands of mourners flocking to Saheb Al Zaman mosque in Kerman, central Iran, where the commander is buried. Some held pictures of Maj Gen Suleimani and his aides, while utility poles on streetsides were decorated with Iranian flags.

In Tehran, demonstrators chanted: "Down with America" and "Down with Israel" as they held up photographs of the general.

Attending the rally at the capital's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque, President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to "neutralise the enemy's sinister schemes to create discord among Muslims".

"We will stand on the side of the truth. We will continue on the path of martyr Suleimani with strength and defeat these cowards," Mr Pezeshkian told the crowd.

On Wednesday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed a gathering that included relatives of Maj Gen Suleimani, as well as those of his late aides and people killed last January in a suicide attack on a memorial for the commander in Kerman, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Mr Khamenei also received survivors of attacks carried out by Israel in Lebanon last year, during which booby-trapped pager devices killed several militants from the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. Thousands were injured in those attacks, with the wounds to survivors on display this week at remembrance ceremonies in Iran.

The Israeli Prime Minister's office in November claimed Israel's forces were responsible for the simultaneous explosion in multiple locations of the electronic communication devices held by Hezbollah members. The dated technology was used by the militants as a means to avoid surveillance.

Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday described Mr Suleimani as “the military commander, the great fighter, and the dear and kind companion”, according to IRNA. He hailed the “courageous soldier” for his work “at the right time and promptly, with bravery, in the arenas of jihad and resistance”.

A major ceremony was also held in the Iraqi capital on Thursday night by Iran-backed militias and their supporters at the site of the 2020 drone strike on a road to Baghdad airport, where statues of Maj Gen Suleimani and Mr Al Muhandis stand. They held Iraqi and PMF flags and red roses, and lit candles at the scene.

The anniversary of the commander's death follows significant setbacks for Iran's allies and armed proxies that operate around the Middle East.

Gaza-based militant group Hamas has suffered severe losses in its war with Israel, including the assassination in Tehran of its leader Ismail Haniyeh and his successor Yahya Sinwar in the Palestinian enclave.

Similarly, Israel has eliminated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of the group’s commanders in Lebanon. This series of blows against Tehran was capped last month by the toppling of president Bashar Al Assad's Iran-aligned regime in Syria, which prompted all Iranian IRGC officers and Tehran-allied militias to withdraw from the country.

In Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have been launching attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea "in solidarity with Gaza" amid the war with Israel, have also been reeling under heavy bombardments from Israel and the US.