For decades Iran has claimed that Israel has been holding four of its diplomats in captivity. Before he died in January, Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani confirmed to an Iranian journalist that this is a lie.

The legacy of Iran’s efforts to shape the Middle East stretches back even before the revolution. A retired Israeli Brigadier General reviews what is known about the influential Shiite cleric’s murder, who was behind it—and what might have been.