General Joseph Votel, commander of the US Central Command, has said Iran is central to an “expensive and expansive campaign of malign activity” in the Middle East.

In tweets on Sunday, General Votel said: “It is clear to me that Qasem Soleimani and the IRGC Quds Force is at the heart of an expensive and expansive campaign of malign activity in the region, including in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain and Yemen.

“Those malign and destabilizing activities threaten regional security and stability and are not in the best interest of the Iranian people,” he added.

Qasem Soleimani is included in the UN blacklist of Iranian military and political figures because of their connection with the development of a military nuclear program.

Soleimani and the Quds Force are also the subject of unilateral US sanctions, which classifies the Quds Force as an organization that provides assistance to terrorism, and Soleimani personally as a terrorist.

The general is known as an organizer of sabotage and intelligence operations who has created a wide network of agents with the support of Shiite communities across the region.

Source » alarabiya