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Body of commander slain by U.S. strike arrives in Iran to crowds of mourners Body of commander slain by U.S. strike arrives in Iran to crowds of mourners
(about 2 hours later)
ISTANBUL — The body of a slain Iranian commander killed in a U.S. drone strike arrived in Iran Sunday as tens of thousands of mourners marched in the streets.ISTANBUL — The body of a slain Iranian commander killed in a U.S. drone strike arrived in Iran Sunday as tens of thousands of mourners marched in the streets.
Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, was targeted by U.S. forces in Baghdad Friday as he left the airport in a two-car convoy. Eight other people were killed, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a powerful Iraqi militia leader.Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, was targeted by U.S. forces in Baghdad Friday as he left the airport in a two-car convoy. Eight other people were killed, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a powerful Iraqi militia leader.
Soleimani’s body was flown to Ahvaz, in southwest Iran, in a flag-draped coffin following a funeral procession in Baghdad and the two Iraqi shrine cities of Karbala and Najaf.Soleimani’s body was flown to Ahvaz, in southwest Iran, in a flag-draped coffin following a funeral procession in Baghdad and the two Iraqi shrine cities of Karbala and Najaf.
In footage broadcast on Iranian state television, black-clad mourners filled Ahvaz’s Mollavi Square and surrounding streets, as well as a major bridge. The channel juxtaposed the images of the crowds with a video of a younger Soleimani reciting Persian poetry and Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency described the scene as “glorious.” The procession began just hours after President Trump, tweeting from his personal resort in West Palm Beach, Fla., threatened to strike targets in Iran should its forces retaliate against Americans or U.S. interests.
The mourners waved black, green and red flags and chanted Shiite religious slogans. Ahvaz, recently the site of intense anti-government unrest and a harsh government crackdown, was also a focal point for some of the heaviest fighting during the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s, of which Soleimani was a veteran. He appeared to be responding to remarks by a Revolutionary Guard commander, Gen. Gholamali Abuhamzeh, who suggested Saturday that dozens of American facilities and military assets in the Middle East were at risk, along with Israel, a key U.S. ally.
An unverified video posted online showed masked youth setting fire to a billboard commemorating Soleimani. “If Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.” Trump tweeted.
Still, some residents saw the commander as an important figure.
“All schools and businesses are closed today — he was popular here and even more popular now,” said Farnaz, a resident of Ahvaz who declined to give her full name so she could speak freely about the slain commander. “People here have felt insecure and threatened by other countries for decades, so they saw Soleimani as an important and charismatic commander who was protecting their security.”
Iran has vowed revenge against the U.S. But it seems to be in no hurry.Iran has vowed revenge against the U.S. But it seems to be in no hurry.
The funeral procession will continue to Mashhad in northeastern Iran, as well as the capital, Tehran, and the holy city of Qom on Monday. Soleimani will be buried in his hometown, Kerman, on Tuesday. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded Sunday on Twitter, saying: “Targeting cultural sites is a WAR CRIME.” Iran has 24 locations on the U.N. list of world heritage sites.
Iran has vowed to seek revenge for Soleimani’s killing, as the Trump administration announced that it was sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East. In footage broadcast on Iranian state television Sunday, black-clad mourners waving flags and chanting religious slogans filled Ahvaz’s Mollavi Square and surrounding streets, as well as a major bridge. The channel juxtaposed the images of the crowds with a video of a younger Soleimani reciting Persian poetry and Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency described the scene as “glorious.”
On Saturday, Iraq was the uneasy epicenter of a region on edge, with rockets falling after dark and Iranian officials and President Trump trading threats of escalating military action. “All schools and businesses are closed today — he was popular here and even more popular now,” said Farnaz, 33, a computer engineer and resident of Ahvaz. Like other Iranians contacted Sunday, she spoke on the condition that her full name not be used so she could talk freely about the death of a senior military commander.
An Iranian commander quoted by the Tasnim News Agency on Saturday suggested that dozens of American facilities and military assets in the Middle East were at risk, along with Israel, a key U.S. ally. “People here have felt insecure and threatened by other countries for decades, so they saw Soleimani as an important and charismatic commander who was protecting their security,” she said.
“Thirty-five vital American positions in the region are within the reach of the Islamic Republic, and Tel Aviv,” the commander, Gen. Gholamali Abuhamzeh, said, citing the Strait of Hormuz as a particularly vital thoroughfare frequented by U.S. warships. Still, Ahvaz and other cities in oil-rich Khuzestan province, home to a large ethnic Arab minority, have a history of anti-government unrest. In November, when protests over cuts to fuel subsidies gripped Iranian cities, security forces launched a brutal crackdown and gunned down scores of demonstrators in Mahshahr, some 70 miles south of Ahvaz. On Sunday, unverified video posted online showed masked youth setting fire to a billboard commemorating Soleimani.
Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia backed by Iran, warned members of Iraqi security forces to keep more than half a mile from U.S. military bases, beginning Sunday evening. The militia, which led a siege of the U.S. Embassy before Soleimani’s killing, did not say why it issued the warning. The slain commander’s procession will continue to Mashhad in northeastern Iran, as well as the capital, Tehran, and the holy city of Qom on Monday. Soleimani will be buried in his hometown, Kerman, on Tuesday.
Trump, tweeting Saturday from his personal resort in West Palm Beach, Fla., appeared to be responding in kind when he said that the United States had targeted multiple sites in Iran and that those targets would be struck should U.S. military sites be attacked or Americans harmed. He also repeated the administration’s justification for Soleimani’s killing, referring to the Iranian commander as a “terrorist leader” who had been planning additional attacks. In Mashhad, home to the shrine of Imam Reza, a revered figure in Shiite Islam, residents described a city paralyzed by preparations for the funeral. Many of those already in the streets hailed from Liwa al-Fatemiyoun, a military brigade of mostly Afghan Shiite Hazaras recruited and equipped by the Revolutionary Guard, according to residents.
“If Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD.” he tweeted. “All the roads are closed and if there is an emergency, there is no way to move,” said 27-year-old Moen, a construction worker.
A spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition against the Islamic State said that “we have increased security and defensive measures at the Iraqi bases that host anti-ISIS coalition troops.” “People have mixed feelings about his death,” he said. “Most of the people around me are sad, but also afraid that the recent [anti-government] protests and hundreds of people killed were in vain.”
Trump threatens reprisals against Iran should U.S. assets or Americans come under attackTrump threatens reprisals against Iran should U.S. assets or Americans come under attack
NATO announced that it was suspending its training of troops in Iraq and the United States said that it had also stepped up security at military bases in the country. The Department of Homeland Security issued a public bulletin about the potential threat for terrorism in the United States amid the surging tensions, while repeating assurances given earlier this week that U.S. officials do not know of any specific, credible threat to the United States. On Saturday, Iraq was the uneasy epicenter of a region on edge, with rockets falling after dark and mourners chanting anti-American slogans at two prominent religious sites.
Later Saturday, rockets were fired toward Baghdad’s Green Zone, site of the U.S. Embassy, and at an air base hosting U.S. troops north of Baghdad, but they caused no casualties, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials, who did not say who fired the rockets.
On Saturday, the White House delivered a formal notification of the drone strike that killed Soleimani to Congress, as is required under the War Powers Act. The report is completely classified, according to a senior Democratic aide, but probably details the administration’s justification for the strike, as well as the constitutional and legislative rationale used to send troops.
Iran’s new Quds Force commander brings continuity to the post held by his slain predecessor
NATO, which has several hundred personnel in Iraq, said Saturday that it has temporarily suspended its training of Iraqi forces to counter the Islamic State, according to Dylan White, a NATO spokesman. “The safety of our personnel in Iraq is paramount. We continue to take all precautions necessary,” he said in an emailed statement.
Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states have reacted nervously to the escalating tensions because of their proximity to Iran and fears of a backlash due to their close partnerships, including military cooperation, with the United States.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi called the attack “an assassination” that was a “flagrant violation of the conditions authorizing the presence of U.S. troops” on Iraqi soil.Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi called the attack “an assassination” that was a “flagrant violation of the conditions authorizing the presence of U.S. troops” on Iraqi soil.
Abdul-Karim Khalaf, a security spokesman for Iraq’s prime minister, said Saturday that U.S. forces are not allowed to conduct military operations in Iraq without the approval of the prime minister, and he hinted that their future in the country is in doubt. Rockets were later fired toward Baghdad’s Green Zone, site of the U.S. Embassy, and at an air base hosting U.S. troops north of Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi officials said they caused no casualties.
“We have alternatives to train our armed forces,” Khalaf said. Iran’s new Quds Force commander brings continuity to the post held by his slain predecessor
A spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition against the Islamic State said that “we have increased security and defensive measures at the Iraqi bases that host anti-ISIS coalition troops.”
Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia backed by Iran, also warned members of Iraqi security forces to keep more than half a mile from U.S. military bases, beginning Sunday evening. The militia, which led a siege of the U.S. Embassy before Soleimani’s killing, did not say why it issued the warning.
NATO, which has several hundred personnel in Iraq, announced that it was suspending its training of Iraqi troops.
“The safety of our personnel in Iraq is paramount. We continue to take all precautions necessary,” a NATO spokesman, Dylan White, said in an emailed statement.
Kareem Fahim in Istanbul and Mustafa Salim in Baghdad contributed to this report.
How Trump decided to kill a top Iranian generalHow Trump decided to kill a top Iranian general
Iranians demonstrate in support of slain military commanderIranians demonstrate in support of slain military commander
Why Soleimani’s killing is different from other targeted attacks by U.S.Why Soleimani’s killing is different from other targeted attacks by U.S.
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