BEIRUT—When martyr Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani wrote his final testament, he was not addressing a moment of defeat or retreat, but a phase of historical ascent cloaked in pressure. 

His words were not emotional consolation; they were strategic guidance for a nation and a nation facing relentless hostility.

Today, as Iran confronts the aftermath and implications of the twelve-day war imposed against the Islamic Republic by Israel and the U.S., Gen. Soleimani’s testament emerges not as memory, but as living doctrine—one that explains endurance, shapes victory, and unifies the forces of the Resistance.

“The Islamic Republic is passing through one of its most honorable stages,” Soleimani wrote, urging the people not to measure themselves by the enemy’s gaze, but by the truth of their path. 

This insight provides a key to understanding Iran’s conduct, resilience, and strategic posture in the recent confrontation.

A measure of authenticity, not weakness

In his testament, Gen. Soleimani, also known as Haj Qassem, warns explicitly: “Let not the enemy’s slander, gloating, and pressure lead you to division.”

He frames hostility as a historical constant faced by all authentic movements of truth. 

By invoking the experience of the Prophet Muhammad and his household—who endured accusations, boycotts, and persecution—Soleimani placed Iran’s struggle within a prophetic continuum.

The twelve-day war confirmed this logic. The intensity of aggression, psychological warfare, and media distortion was not evidence of Iran’s isolation, but of the enemy’s fear of a model that refuses collapse. 

Iran’s cohesion under fire embodied Soleimani’s warning: unity is the first line of defense.

From the Shah’s illusion to the Islamic Republic’s substance

Gen. Soleimani contrasted revolutionary Iran with the hollow grandeur of the Shah’s era—an Iran portrayed as powerful yet stripped of sovereignty, identity, and justice.

Today’s Islamic Republic, despite decades of sanctions, stands as a technologically advanced, militarily capable, and politically independent state.

This transformation explains why Iran could endure and maneuver strategically during the twelve-day war, avoiding reckless escalation while maintaining firm deterrence.

The enemy’s long-standing bet—that sanctions and pressure would fracture Iran from within—failed once again, just as Soleimani anticipated.

The 12-day war: Soleimani’s doctrine in action

Though martyred, Soleimani’s strategic fingerprints were unmistakable throughout the confrontation. His doctrine rested on three pillars: deterrence without impulsiveness, unity of fronts, and calculated patience.

Iran’s response to the Israeli enemy reflected this doctrine. The war did not erupt into chaos because the Resistance axis—conceptualized and strengthened by Soleimani—operates as an integrated system, not scattered reactions.

This strategic maturity denied the enemy its primary objective: dragging the region into uncontrolled fragmentation.

At the heart of this system stood Gen. Soleimani’s unbreakable bond with his companion in struggle, martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Their relationship was not symbolic; it was operational, ideological, and deeply spiritual. Together, they transformed Resistance from localized reactions into a coherent regional force.

Gen. Soleimani believed that the strength of Iran could not be separated from the strength of the Resistance movements it supported—not as proxies, but as partners in a shared destiny.

The resilience of these movements during and after the twelve-day war is inseparable from his lifetime of patient institution-building.

“We can”

One of the testament’s core messages aligns with the principle repeatedly emphasized by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: “We can.” Gen. Soleimani urged Iranians to look at achievements, not pressures—to derive confidence from capability rather than fear from sanctions.

The twelve-day war demonstrated that this principle is no longer rhetorical. Iran’s deterrent capacity, strategic restraint, and regional influence are tangible realities. The enemy’s inability to impose its will militarily or politically reaffirmed that confidence rooted in faith produces strength rooted in reality.

Gen. Soleimani did not write his testament for a funeral; he wrote it for battles yet to come. The twelve-day war revealed how deeply his vision remains embedded in Iran’s strategic culture and the Axis of Resistance as a whole.

“Do not be shaken by the enemy’s gaze” was not advice for patience alone—it was a call to historical consciousness, unity, and unwavering resolve. In Iran’s steadfastness, in the coherence of the Resistance, and in the enduring partnership between martyrs like Soleimani and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, that call continues to shape reality.

Martyrdom ended his life, but not his command!