Following the September 11 attacks of 2001 , Ryan Crocker , a senior State Department official in the United States , flew to Geneva to meet with Iranian diplomats who were under the direction of Soleimani with the purpose of collaborating to destroy the Taliban , which had targeted Shia Afghanis . This collaboration was instrumental in defining the targets of bombing operations in Afghanistan and in capturing key Al-Qaeda operatives , but abruptly ended in January 2002 , when George W. Bush named Iran as part of the " Axis of evil " in his State of the Union address
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Qasem Soleimani