Qasem Soleimani (Persian: قاسم سلیمانی‎, pronounced [ɢɒːˌsem(e) solejmɒːˈniː]; 11 March 1957 – 3 January 2020), also transliterated as Qassem Suleimani or Qassim Soleimani, was an Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and, from 1998 until his death, commander of its Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations.