LONDON: A senior Iranian military commander dubbed a “diabolically evil human being,” and who is responsible for spearheading Tehran’s interventionist policies in Arab countries and regional conflicts, is the subject of a new BBC documentary.
“Shadow Commander: Iran’s Military Mastermind,” set to air on March 14, sheds light on the story of Al-Quds force chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani, with first-hand accounts of his secret deals and shifting alliances across Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
The documentary features former US diplomat Ryan Crocker and former head of US forces in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus, who talk candidly about the desperate struggle in the Middle East region and Soleimani’s brutal influence, stretching from Tehran to Beirut.
“We saw Soleimani as a very capable charismatic, skilled, professionally competent, diabolically evil human being,” says Gen. Petraeus in the documentary.
Crocker says: “We can see him as the Darth Vader of contemporary Middle Eastern politics.”
For decades Soleimani has dominated the brutal struggle for power and influence across the Middle East.
With the Iranian general taking center stage in Iran’s strategic ambitions, the one-hour BBC film questions whether he is shaping up for a new conflict with the West in the region.
Soleimani joined the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1979 following the Iranian Revolution, which saw the Shah fall and Ayatollah Khomeini return from exile to seize power. He rose steadily through the ranks of the Iranian military until 2002 when, months before the US invasion of Iraq, he was appointed to command the most elite unit of the Iranian military — the Al-Quds force.
During the Iraq War, Soleimani was responsible for the smuggling of thousands of sophisticated bombs into the country and arming the Shiite militias, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of British and US troops.
However, just a few years later, the Western coalition found itself facing the same enemy as Soleimani in the fight against Daesh extremists.
Following the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001, Crocker met with Iranian diplomats who were under the direction of Soleimani with the purpose of collaborating to destroy the Taliban, which had targeted Shiite Afghans.
This collaboration was instrumental in defining the targets of bombing operations in Afghanistan and in capturing key Al-Qaeda operatives, but abruptly ended in January 2002, when George W. Bush named Iran as part of the “axis of evil” in his State of the Union address.
‘Diabolically evil’: BBC show reveals Iranian general’s shadowy past
‘Diabolically evil’: BBC show reveals Iranian general’s shadowy past
- ‘Shadow Commander: Iran’s Military Mastermind,’ set to air on March 14, sheds light on the story of Al-Quds force chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani
- The documentary features former US diplomat Ryan Crocker and former head of US forces in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus
Paris exhibition marks 200 years of Le Figaro and the enduring power of the press
- The exhibition celebrated the bicentennial of Le Figaro, offering visitors a rare opportunity to step inside the newspaper’s vast historical archive
PARIS: One of France’s most influential newspapers marked a major milestone this month with a landmark exhibition beneath the soaring glass nave of the Grand Palais, tracing two centuries of journalism, literature and political debate.
Titled 1826–2026: 200 years of freedom, the exhibition celebrated the bicentennial of Le Figaro, offering visitors a rare opportunity to step inside the newspaper’s vast historical archive. Held over three days in mid-January, the free exhibition drew large crowds eager to explore how the title has both chronicled and shaped modern French history.
More than 300 original items were displayed, including historic front pages, photographs, illustrations and handwritten manuscripts. Together, they charted Le Figaro’s evolution from a 19th-century satirical publication into a leading national daily, reflecting eras of revolution, war, cultural change and technological disruption.
The exhibition unfolded across a series of thematic spaces, guiding visitors through defining moments in the paper’s past — from its literary golden age to its role in political debate and its transition into the digital era. Particular attention was paid to the newspaper’s long association with prominent writers and intellectuals, underscoring the close relationship between journalism and cultural life in France.
Beyond the displays, the program extended into live journalism. Public editorial meetings, panel discussions and film screenings invited audiences to engage directly with editors, writers and media figures, turning the exhibition into a forum for debate about the future of the press and freedom of expression.
Hosted at the Grand Palais, the setting itself reinforced the exhibition’s ambition: to place journalism firmly within the country’s cultural heritage. While the exhibition has now concluded, the bicentennial celebrations continue through special publications and broadcasts, reaffirming Le Figaro’s place in France’s public life — and the enduring relevance of a free and questioning press in an age of rapid change.
