General Suleimani and the Untold Facts of 33-Day July War

Marwa Haidar
Head of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Brigade General Qassem Suleimani appeared in an interview aired on Tuesday  to tell the behind-the-scenes details of July War in 2006.
The interview with the office for preservation and dissemination of the works of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, is the first one with General Suleimani since being appointed as the Chief Commander of Quds Brigade.
Talking about the circumstances surrounding the 33-day war in 2006, General Suleimnai stressed that Hezbollah was fully ready for confrontation with the Zionist entity as the Lebanese resistance movement decided the Operation Truthful Promise which led to the capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid aimed holding indirect swap deal in a bid to free Lebanese detainees in Israeli jails.
Previously Planned Offensive
In this context, General Suleimani said that the Zionist entity was initially planning a swift offensive against Lebanon even before the border operation in2006 took place.
“We concluded that prior to this war, a swift ambush was supposed to be conducted to overturn Hezbollah,” General Suleimani said, noting that even Israeli officials acknowledged that after July War.
The top Iranian general stressed that the main goal of July War was to change the demography of in southern Lebanon, so that the people living in that area, who had some religious connections with Hezbollah, would be moved out of Lebanon.
He revealed that the Zionist regime sought to implement the same plan as what happened after 1967 to the Palestinians in southern Lebanon to force people to evacuate and settle in various refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, and other Arab countries.
Imam Khamenei in July War
Recalling memories of July War, General Suleimani said that Imam Khamenei likened the 33-day  war with Prophet Mohammad’s (a.s.) Battle of the Trench, or Battle of the Confederates, and said that Hezbollah will emerge victorious following this war just like Prophet Mohammad (a.s.) and Muslims emerged victorious in that battle.
He voiced confidence with Imam Khamenei’s insight, saying: “whenever the Leader doubts something it ends up to be vague, and whenever his eminence supports something I believe in it.”
General Suleimani and Hajj Imad Mughniyeh
The top Iranian General then talked about Hezbollah’s top commander Hajj Imad Mughniyeh, who was martyred in an assassination operation carried out by Israeli spy agency, Mossad.
General Suleimani said that Mughniyeh directly oversaw Operation Truthful Promise.
Filled with emotions, General Suleimani described Hajj Imad Mughniyeh as saying: “He was a general, in the true sense of the word. He was a general with the most similar features to Malik Ashtar on the battlefield,” referring to one of the most loyal companions of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) and top military commander in the Muslim army at time.
More Memories
General Suleiman further talked about July War memories, revealing that he himself came to Lebanon via Syria, accompanied Hajj Imad Mughniyeh and met Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah.
He also revealed that the letter sent to Sayyed Nasrallah by resistance fighters during July War was Hajj Imad Mughniyeh’s idea.
“When he read the letter I saw him breaking into tears. It was so impressive. And the most important thing about it was Sayyed Nasrallah’s letter in response,” General Suleimani said.
He also recalled a moment when the Iranian general and Hajj Imad Mughniyeh survived a potential raid by an Israeli drone in Beirut’s southern suburb (Dahiyeh) during July War.