The commander of the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Forces, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, has flouted an international travel ban and flown to Moscow for talks with Russia’s military and political leadership on Syria and deliveries of Russian missiles, Reuters reported on Friday.
The main purpose of his visit was to discuss new delivery routes for shipments of Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, sources told Reuters. Several sources also said Soleimani wanted to talk about how Russia and Iran’s regime could help Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad take back control of the city of Aleppo.
Soleimani met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday, one source said.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Secretary of State John Kerry raised concerns about reports of Soleimani going to Russia in a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday.
Kirby said U.N. sanctions on Soleimani remained in effect, “so such travel, if true, would be a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and we believe, then, a serious matter of concern to both the U.N. and the United States.”
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the United States would continue to insist that Russia and other countries comply with U.N. obligations “and prevent the international travel of Soleimani.”
“We also intend to continue to raise the issue in New York,” the official said, referring to the United Nations.
Soleimani remains subject to an international travel ban by the U.N. Security Council despite implementation of a nuclear deal between Iran’s regime and world powers that triggered sanctions relief for Tehran. Washington has also designated the IRGC Quds Force as a supporter of terrorism.