Assessing the Possibility of Prosecution of Commanders Who Ordered to Terror Martyr Soleimani

The extensive grounds of terrorist’s unpunishment, specifically in the newly-founded and governmental crimes, has affected the frequency of these terrorist acts and has led to the increasing development of their anti-human practices in regional and global levels. The unprecedented order and official terror of internationally protected persons, including the commander of the Quds Force by the US president, is the example of a crime that has violated treaties, customary rules and international legal principles and the new forms of terrorism, which could be imitated  by other states’ presidents, threatens the peace and stability of the international community. Considering that the terrorist act was committed in the territory of a foreign country with the aiding and abetting of alien’s nationals, the victim's country is not easily able to prosecute the commanders who ordered and perpetrators of that incident. This is due to the fact that the terrorist act has occurred outside the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran and therefore the principle of territorial jurisdiction, which is the basis for the determination and recognition of the competent courts and law, cannot be enforced. Overcoming this fundamental obstacle and finding legal solutions to achieve the governing rules and the competent authority by exploring the jurisdictional aspects of international institutions is a challenge that has been addressed in this article through a descriptive-analytic method of study. Strategies such as applying the principles of substitute competence, using the capacity of the relevant states’ cooperation, legal capacity-creating based on the measures tested in the world community, constitute applicable responses for solving the problem.