Iran sentenced Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd to death on charges of espionage in favor of the Central Intelligence Agency of the federal government of the United States. Mousavi-Majd is accused of providing information about the movement of high-ranking Iranian police officer Qasem Soleimani to CIA. According to the Iranian authorities, Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd was a spy for the US and Israeli intelligence services.
The United States Department of Defense conducted a military operation to eliminate Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020. General Soleimani was the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' special forces unit, Al-Quds, which the United States listed as a terrorist organization. The bomb struck near the Baghdad airport.
In response to Soleimani's assassination, Iran launched several attacks on US bases in Iraq, rising tensions between the United States and Iran.
Esmail Ghaani became the new commander of the Quds Force after Soleimani's assassination.
