In the turbulent days following the September 11 terrorist attack, Ryan Crocker, the then senior US diplomatic official, flew to Geneva and met with Iranian General Soleimani.

"I departed on Friday and came back on Sunday so nobody in the office knew where I was," Crocker recounted a secret trip to Geneva, Switzerland in 2001 to meet a group of Iranian officials, in including Qassem Soleimani, commander of Quds task force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). "We stayed up all night during those meetings."

Soleimani was killed on Tuesday in a US air strike outside Baghdad airport in Iraq. Like many people in the Middle East, however, US relations with Soleimani are complex and Iranian generals are not always on the other side of the line.

New Yorker journalist Dexter Filkins in 2013 said there was a time when the United States and Iran even raised hopes of forming an alliance in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. Soleimani, the head of the elite Quds force, has been tasked with discussions with Washington.

Washington and Tehran cut off diplomatic relations since 1980 after the hostage crisis, but Crocker was not too surprised by Soleimani's clever, flexible manners. "You cannot overcome years of brutal war without becoming wise," the former official said.

The Iranian official group called Soleimani "Haji Qassem". During the discussion, there were times when Soleimani had to send a message to Crocker, but he always avoided revealing any handwriting. "Haji Qassem is too smart. He will not let the Americans know his trace," Crocker commented.

According to Crocker, the Tehran side expressed its willingness to cooperate with Washington to destroy the common enemy, the Taliban rebel group, after which the two sides shared information. Crocker received a detailed map of Taliban locations. In response, he revealed to Iran the position of an advisor to al-Qaeda militants, who were quickly captured by Tehran.

Crocker said the negotiator he worked with said, "Haji Qassem is very pleased with the cooperation between the two sides." However, the situation quickly reversed. Despite the ongoing cooperation, former US President George W. Bush in a famous speech in January 2002 called Iran, Iraq and North Korea an "axis of evil".

The former US official said that the labeling ended everything. One day after the speech, he met the Iranian negotiator again at the UN building in Kabul, Afghanistan. "You completely hurt me. Soleimani is in rage. He feels assailed," Crocker quoted the partner, adding that the person was extremely angry.

The negotiator said that President Bush's speech then left a great political risk. "Perhaps it is time to rethink our relationship with Americans," the negotiator quoted Soleimani as saying.

The concept of "axis of evil" caused the meetings between the US-Iran delegation to end. Those who support reform and promote cooperation with the US in the Iranian government have also become weak. "We've come very close to the finish line. Only one phrase in a speech has changed history," Crocker shook his head, recalling.

Relations between the two countries were even more strained after the US launched a military operation in Iraq in 2003, rejected Iran's offer of talks, and defended Mujahedeen Khalq, an opposition group that supported the overthrow of the government. Iran, backed by the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. General Soleimani has since become an enemy in Washington's eyes.

In a 2013 interview, Crocker recounted another indirect contact with Soleimani in April 2008, when former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched an offensive against insurgents in the south of the country.

"After a few days of extremely violent situation, Maliki prevailed with our support. That made many Iranians worried, including Soleimani. He offered to meet with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. and Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi, "Crocker said.

The former US official said Iran also invited him and former general David Petraeus, then commander of the US coalition forces in Iraq, to have dinner and deliver the message of Soleimani. "Soleimani's move shows that Maliki's attack confused him and is not sure what will happen next," Crocker said.

According to journalist Filkins, during that time, Soleimani, who was considered Iran's second power after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, approached some high-ranking US officials and sent many messages. In early 2008, the late Iraqi president Talabani gave Petraeus a phone containing a message from Soleimani.

"To General Petraeus, you should know that I, Qassem Soleimani, controls Iran's policy with respect for Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan. In fact, the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad is a member of the Quds force. The individual that replaces him will also be part of this force, "said the message.

After the death of five American soldiers in Karbala, Iraq, Soleimani also sent a message to the US ambassador. "I swear on the grave of the late Khomeini leader that I did not order any gunfire against the Americans," the Iranian general said. However, no Americans believed him.

Filkins said that although Petraeus criticized Soleimani for being "truly cruel", there were times when the two were forced to negotiate with each other. Diplomatic documents released by WikiLeaks show that Petraeus contacted Soleimani through Iraqi leaders, helping a truce between the forces of extremist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the pro-American Iraqi government told guaranteed.

The interests of Washington and Tehran are once again in agreement when the Islamic State (IS) rebels, common enemies of both countries, revolt in Iraq and Syria. The Iranian-backed militia, led by Soleimani, has contributed to repelling ISIS in Iraq, in part because this radical Sunni Islamic group is a threat to Iran, where the Shiite majority. In addition, Iran wants to maintain its influence in Iraq in the future.

However, Trump's withdrawal in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal, the result of a 15-year negotiation between Tehran and six powers, simultaneously intensified sanctions, causing tensions between the two countries to explode again. . A series of incidents that escalated the situation last year led to the end of Soleimani's death on January 3.