Qasem Soleimani was an Iranian military officer who served as the 2nd commander of the Quds Force from March 1998 until his assassination by the United States in January 2020. He was described as "the single most powerful operative in the Middle East" and a "genius of asymmetric warfare". Former Mossad director Yossi Cohen said Soleimani's strategies had "personally tightened a noose around Israel's neck".