After Soleimani: What’s Next for Iran’s Quds Force? – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point

"The question of the implications of Soleimani’s death and the potential disruption or continuity in IRGC-QF activities is significant for a number of reasons. Today, Iran is directly and indirectly involved in half a dozen countries in its region from Afghanistan to Lebanon and Yemen. The IRGC-QF plays a central role in many of these theaters, and the network of non-state allies and partners the unit has helped cultivate counts thousands of forces across several different groups and organizations to include Lebanese Hezbollah, the Shia militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, and Fatemiyoun (Afghan Shi`a militia) and Zeinabiyoun (Pakistani Shi`a militia) in Syria. It remains to be seen if and how Soleimani’s death will change Iran’s footprint, the breadth, depth, and scope of Tehran’s relations with its proxies, and how the country intervenes abroad—primarily through ‘train and advise’ missions rather than direct and large deployments of troops. "