Thousands of Iraqi mourners chanted “revenge” and “no to America” on Sunday after a US drone strike killed the venerable Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
A vigil held on Saturday by Soleimani and Muhandis in Yemen’s war-torn insurgent capital Sanaa Photo: AFP / MOHAMMED HUWAIS
Pro-Iranian protesters, mostly dressed in black, piled up in Baghdad’s central Tahrir Square, where they also condemned Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi as a “coward” and an “American agent. “
The anniversary of the drone strike in Baghdad, which brought Washington and Tehran to the breaking point of the war in early 2020, has also been marked in days across Iran and through sympathizers in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere.
One of the many vigils for commanders took place Saturday night at the central Iraqi shrine in the city of Karbala Photo: AFP / Mohammed SAWAF
Preparations for the commemorations dramatically increased regional tensions in the weeks leading up to the departure of US President Donald Trump, who ordered the killings, to the White House.
Iran has organized a series of commemorative occasions for the Shiite “martyr” Soleimani, who has been immortalized in portraits, sculptures, ballads and an upcoming television series. Tehran also unveiled his autobiography on Sunday, focusing largely on his formative years and early adulthood, and a postage stamp in his honor.
An Iraqi fighter from the largely pro-Iranian paramilitary force Hashed al-Chaabi stands guard under the portraits of the slain Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qasem Soleimani (right) and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis Photo: AFP / AHMAD AL -RUBAYE
In Iraq, the harsh pro-Iranian state-sponsored paramilitary network Hashed al-Shaabi, which was commanded by Muhandis, led vigils for him and General Soleimani, who led the foreign operations branch of the Guard Corps. the Islamic revolution of Iran.
Sunday’s rally in Baghdad was a show of force for the armed teams that, despite their formal integration into the Iraqi security apparatus, defied the Kadhemi government.
Members of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah march on Saturday in Baalbeck, in the Bekaa Valley, to honor the commanders killed in the US drone attack Photo: AFP / –
Thousands of mourners gathered Saturday night at the site near Baghdad’s international airport, where the United States rammed the two cars and killed Soleimani, Muhandis and eight other men.
The commemorations of the Shiite Muslim commanders dramatically increased regional tensions in the weeks leading up to the departure of US President Donald Trump, who ordered the massacres, to the White House Photo: AFP / Ali NAJAFI
By candlelight, they worshiped their “martyrs” and condemned America’s “great Satan,” where neighboring walls are still littered with shells.
“We tell America and the enemies of Islam that they can inflict the greatest sacrifices on us, but we will continue to do so despite the bloodshed,” said Batul Najjar, a Hashed supporter.
Iraqi protesters in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square to mark a year since a US drone attack killed the venerable Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis Photo: AFP / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE
The Hashed, factions that Washington has blamed for opposing rocket movements on its embassy and troops in Iraq, have challenged Kadhemi, whom it accuses of helping prepare for drone movements.
Once, this has again increased tensions in the war-torn and politically fragile country the United States invaded in 2003, and which remains mired in an economic crisis amid low oil and the coronavirus pandemic.
Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese motion Hezbollah, told Hezbollah al-Manar tv that Soleimani’s death is a “coup”, but that the departure of US troops from the region is being maintained. a “declared objective” Photo: AFP / –
Pro-Iranian protesters, mostly dressed in black, piled up in Baghdad where they also condemned the Iraqi prime minister as a “coward” and an “agent of the Americans. ” Photo: AFP / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE
Before the demonstration in Tahrir Square, Ahmed Assadi, one of the leaders of the Hashed parliamentary bloc, vowed: “Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, we will go out among millions to support your portrait in Tahrir. “
Giant posters of Soleimani and Muhandis were hung over the iconic plaza, which in late 2019 saw the midst of major anti-government protests, from a deserted construction known as the Turkish Restaurant that was once the unofficial headquarters of the protesters.
“We have come to say no to the United States and to any other occupier who comes to desecrate our land,” one of the mourners, Oum Mariam, told AFP.
After Soleimani’s assassination, the Iraqi parliament voted first to expel the US forces; however, despite some withdrawals, about 3,000 US soldiers remain in the country.
Amid the fiery tensions, Iraqis and many in the wider region are nervously watching any escalation before Trump leaves the White House on January 20.
Trump clashed with Iran, a long-time enemy, by unilaterally withdrawing from a nuclear deal between Tehran and global powers in 2018 and launching a “maximum pressure” crusade to punish and economically isolate the country.
Trump recently tweeted that the United States heard “about more attacks on Americans in Iraq” and warned that “if they kill an American, I will hold Iran responsible. Think about it. “
In recent days, US B-52 bombers have flown over the region so far in less than a month; and late Sunday the Pentagon denied reports that it had ordered its aircraft carrier Nimitz to leave the Gulf, saying that due to “recent threats” from Iran, the shipment would remain. The Pentagon did not specify the threats.
On Sunday, Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese motion funded by the Iranian Hezbollah, said that Soleimani’s death had been a “coup” but that the withdrawal of US troops from the region remained a “declared objective. “
“Anyone who is betting that assassinations, assassinations, wars, sieges and sanctions will have an effect on the resistance is wrong,” he said in a televised speech.
The leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami, pledged on Saturday to respond to any “action taken by the enemy” with “a reciprocal, decisive blow and”.
Iran and the United States, staunch enemies since the 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution and the hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran, have twice been at the breaking point of the war since June 2019, most recently after the killing of SoleimaniArray.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday accused Trump of fabricating a “pretext for war” after the president accused Tehran of rocket movements on December 20 opposed to the US embassy in Baghdad.
On Sunday, Zarif tweeted that Soleimani had been “the number one enemy of extremist terrorists,” that he had been “assassinated through the terrorist leader,” in reference to the current US president.