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Iran mourns Suleimani as fallout intensifies over US strike - live updates Iran mourns Suleimani as fallout intensifies over US strike - live updates
(32 minutes later)
Follow the latest developments as huge crowds pack streets of Tehran in memory of Iranian generalFollow the latest developments as huge crowds pack streets of Tehran in memory of Iranian general
Iran’s UK ambassador, Hamid Baeidinejad, has condemned Trump’s threat to target Iran’s cultural sites if there it retaliating against Suleiman’s killing.
Retweeting criticism of Trump’s comments by Tristram Hunt, the director of the V&A museum, Baeidinejad said Trump threat was a disturbing step towards his goal of war.
Donald Trump has defended his threat to target Iranian cultural sites – widely seen as a war crime – if Tehran retaliates for the killing of Suleimani.
On bellicose form, the US president also lashed out at Iraq following its parliament’s demand for American troops to be expelled from that country, and vowed to respond with crippling sanctions.
Speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One a day later, he sought to offer a justification for threat he tweeted on Saturday. “They’re allowed to kill our people,” Trump said, according to a pool report. “They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn’t work that way.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry says it sees no threat of nuclear weapons proliferation after Iran’s decision to abandon limitations on enriching uranium, Reuters reports.
The ministry said that Russia remained fully committed to the Iran nuclear deal
Iran announced on Sunday that it would lift limitations on uranium enrichment, taking a further step back from commitments to a 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers, but said it would continue to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Here’s a summary of events so far:
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has publicly wept presiding over a vast public funeral procession in Tehran for Qassem Suleimani. Khamenei’s voice cracked with emotion as he recited prayers over the coffin of Suleimani and others killed in the attack, amid raised tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Police in Tehran said millions of mourners gathered in the Iranian capital. Observers said they were the largest crowds in Tehran since the funeral in 1989 of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said the the scale of the crowds were a signal to Donald Trump that the US could not break the will of the Iranian people. Zarif also predicted the end of the “malign US presence” in the region.
Suleimani’s daughter, Zeinab, told mourners that the US can expect revenge. She said: “America and Zionism should know that my father’s martyrdom will lead to awakening … in the resistance front and bring about a dark day for them and flatten their homes.”
Diplomats across the world have called for calm and implicitly criticised the US in the wake of the killing of Suleimani. The foreign minister of Germany described a threat by Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Iraq if it withdrew US troops as “not very helpful”. China said it believes Iran was forced to reduce its commitment to the nuclear deal. Saudi Arabia said tensions in the regions were at a “very dangerous moment.”
Downing Street has said targeting cultural sites in Iran, as Trump has suggested, would breach international warfare conventions. Responding to Trump’s latest comments, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said there were “international conventions in place that prevent the destruction of cultural heritage”.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is to travel to Russia this week for talks with Vladimir Putin about the crisis. She is due to visit Moscow on Saturday at the invitation of Putin, the Kremlin said.
Oil prices have climbed above $70 a barrel for the first time in eight months amid fears that the US airstrike may trigger a retaliation. The attack has sent shockwaves through global markets, causing equity indices in Asia, the US and Europe to slump while the benchmark price of Brent crude climbed to its highest level since May last year.
The husband of the jailed British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has criticised the killing of Suleimani, saying it is hard to demand Iran complies with the rule of law if its adversaries play fast and loose with the same law. Richard Ratcliffe again urged Johnson, the British prime minister, to find time to meet him to discuss his wife’s plight.
Downing Street has said targeting cultural sites in Iran would breach international warfare conventions in an implicit rebuke to Donald Trump for threatening to bomb protected heritage sites.Downing Street has said targeting cultural sites in Iran would breach international warfare conventions in an implicit rebuke to Donald Trump for threatening to bomb protected heritage sites.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman refused to criticise Trump directly but made clear the UK government would not support such a course of action, after the US president said he could target 52 Iranian sites if Iran retaliated over the assassination of Qassem Suleimani – “some at a very high level and important to Iran and the Iranian culture”.Boris Johnson’s official spokesman refused to criticise Trump directly but made clear the UK government would not support such a course of action, after the US president said he could target 52 Iranian sites if Iran retaliated over the assassination of Qassem Suleimani – “some at a very high level and important to Iran and the Iranian culture”.
Responding to Trump’s latest comments, Johnson’s spokesman said there were “international conventions in place that prevent the destruction of cultural heritage”, implying the UK does not believe such threats would be carried out.Responding to Trump’s latest comments, Johnson’s spokesman said there were “international conventions in place that prevent the destruction of cultural heritage”, implying the UK does not believe such threats would be carried out.
Helicopter video footage released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Fars news agency shows the scale of the crowds in Tehran.Helicopter video footage released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Fars news agency shows the scale of the crowds in Tehran.
Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional rival and a key ally of the US, has called for calm.Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional rival and a key ally of the US, has called for calm.
Its foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said the kingdom does not want to see further escalation of tensions in the region at a “very dangerous moment”.Its foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said the kingdom does not want to see further escalation of tensions in the region at a “very dangerous moment”.
Speaking at press briefing in Riyadh, Reuters quoted him saying:Speaking at press briefing in Riyadh, Reuters quoted him saying:
The Iranian ambassador to the UK is to complain formally about a frontpage article in the Times claiming that Iranian generals are prepared to kill British troops in response to the assassination of Qassem Suleimani.The Iranian ambassador to the UK is to complain formally about a frontpage article in the Times claiming that Iranian generals are prepared to kill British troops in response to the assassination of Qassem Suleimani.
Hamid Baeidinejad said he strongly condemned “the vicious lie and provocative news by #Times today”.Hamid Baeidinejad said he strongly condemned “the vicious lie and provocative news by #Times today”.
He added on Twitter: “I will ask the concerned UK authorities to take swift action to stop such malicious false propaganda in this very sensitive time.”He added on Twitter: “I will ask the concerned UK authorities to take swift action to stop such malicious false propaganda in this very sensitive time.”
The story was headlined “We will kill UK troops, warns Iran”. Although the embassy frequently takes issue with the slant of specific stories in the British press, including what it feels is anti-Iranian bias, it is rare for the ambassador to threaten a formal complaint.The story was headlined “We will kill UK troops, warns Iran”. Although the embassy frequently takes issue with the slant of specific stories in the British press, including what it feels is anti-Iranian bias, it is rare for the ambassador to threaten a formal complaint.
Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, asked Trump: “Have you EVER seen such a sea of humanity in your life?”Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, asked Trump: “Have you EVER seen such a sea of humanity in your life?”
Zarif predicted the end of what he called the “malign US presence” in the region.Zarif predicted the end of what he called the “malign US presence” in the region.
Observers say the scale of the crowds in Tehran are “astonishing”.Observers say the scale of the crowds in Tehran are “astonishing”.
Downing Street has urged the Iraqi government to allow foreign troops to remain in the country to fight against the threat posed by Islamic State.
In the wake of the killing of Suleimani and a Iraqi militia leader in the US drone attack, Iraq’s parliament voted to expel US troops.
The PM’s spokesman said:
James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, has expressed doubts about the Trump administration’s claim that Suleimani posed a direct threat to US lives.
Speaking to CNN, Clapper said: “Suleimani himself didn’t plant IEDs. He didn’t himself launch rocket attacks against American personel or facilities. So to me it is a bit of a stretch that by doing this they thwarted an imminent attack. Typically under Suleimani attacks were carried out by proxies, that is Shia militia in Iraq.”
Clapper also said the Trump administration was facing a problem of trust by appearing to pick and chose the intelligence it believes.
He said:
Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, has claimed there was “very solid” intelligence that Suleimani was travelling around the region to plan an attack against troops.
“We knew he was in the process of planning these attacks and we acted to defend American lives,” O’Brien told Fox News.
Clapper said he could not believe such assurances without seeing the intelligence on which they were based. He suggested Trump may have to publish any intelligence showing Suliemani posed a threat to US lives.
Clapper said:
Downing Street has insisted Britain’s security partnership with the US remains “very close” despite Donald Trump not informing the UK of its plans to assassinate Suleimani, PA reports.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said:
Asked if Johnson was convinced the US drone strike was legal, the spokesman said:
Johnson spoke to the Iraqi prime minister on Monday morning, the spokesman said.
The scale of the crowds mourning Suleimani in Tehran are was the biggest since the 1989 funeral for the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, according to Reuters.
Crowds chanted: “Death to America”. One poster held by a mourner read: “It is our right to seek a harsh revenge,” echoing comments by Iranian military and political leaders.
The death of the general, widely seen as the second most powerful figure in Iran after Khamenei, has prompted a rare public display of unity at home after deadly anti-government protests in November and before parliamentary elections in February.
“The martyrdom of Suleimani is for sure a turning point for the establishment, at home and abroad. His death, at least for now, has united Iran,” a former senior pro-reform Iranian official told Reuters.
The coffins of Suleimani and the Iraqi militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also killed in Friday’s attack, were draped in their national flags and passed from hand to hand across the heads of mourners in central Tehran.
The funeral ceremonies will culminate with Suleimani’s burial in his home city of Kerman, in southern Iran.
Traditionally, Muslims are buried swiftly after their death, often the same day. But Suleimani’s body has first been taken to cities in Iraq, where Iran has vied with the Washington for influence since the 2003 US invasion, before being carried around Iran.
“America and Zionism should know that my father’s martyrdom will lead to awakening ... in the resistance front and bring about a dark day for them and flatten their homes,” Zeinab Suleimani, the commander’s daughter, told mourners. Iran usually refers to Israel as the Zionist state and describes regional countries and other forces opposed to Israel and the United States as a “resistance” front.
“Crazy Trump, don’t think that everything is over with my father’s martyrdom,” she said in the televised address.
Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, told the ceremony: “Resistance against the Zionist project on the land of Palestine will not stop, and resistance against the American dominance will not be broken.”
Haniyeh was on his first trip to Iran since becoming leader of the group in 2017.
Here’s video of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollha Ali Khamenei, crying over Suleimani’s coffin.
Police in Tehran say “millions” of people have gathered in Tehran to mourn the death of Suleimani, Reuters reports.
Germany has described Donald Trump’s threat to impose sanctions on Iraq if Baghdad expels US troops as “not very helpful”.
Speaking to German radio, the foreign minister, Heiko Maas, said: “I don’t think you can convince Iraq with threats, but with arguments.”
Maas also warned that long term efforts to rebuild Iraq “could all be lost” if the situation escalates.
Iraq’s parliament demanded American troops leave after the drone attack on Suliemani which also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a senior Iraqi militia commander.
In response Trump said Iraq would facing crippling sanctions if it carried out the expulsion.
Speaking to reporter on Air Force One Trump said: “If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis, we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.”
Maas admitted that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had hoped for more full-throated backing from allies.
“Apparently he wasn’t too happy that we didn’t 100% support America’s actions,” Maas said after Pompeo spoke by phone with his German, French and British counterparts.
Maas said it was important that the European Union presented a united stance so it could play a meaningful role in helping to cool tempers.
“Our own security interests are massively affected by the fight in Iraq against international terrorism, against IS, so we have a responsibility here,” he said.
“I think it’s necessary that the EU foreign ministers quickly convene in Brussels to coordinate a European position.”
He also said Germany, France and Britain would decide this week how to react to Iran’s decision to forego the limit on enrichment it had pledged to honour in the nuclear agreement.
“We can’t just accept this without responding,” Maas said.
“It certainly doesn’t make things easier and it could be the first step towards the end of the deal and that would be a great loss.”
China is siding with Iran in the wake Suliemani’s killing and has condemned the US. Its foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said Beijing believes Iran was “forced” to reduce its commitment to the nuclear deal.
He added that “recent military adventures by the US violated the basic norms governing international relations.”
On Sunday Iran announced that it will no longer abide by any of the limits imposed by the unravelling 2015 nuclear deal following the US military intervention.
Shuang added that “there is no way out by military means, and extreme pressure will not work.” He said “power politics is unpopular and unsustainable.”
China is among the countries that signed the nuclear deal. Shuang added that Iran has demonstrated restraint under the agreement and did not violate its obligations.
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, will travel to Russia later this week for talks with Vladimir Putin about the Middle East crisis following Suliemani’s killing, Reuters reports.
The Kremlin said Merkel will travel to Russia on Saturday at Putin’s invitation and that the two leaders also plan to discuss the situations in Syria, Libya and Ukraine.
Welcome to live coverage of the fallout from the death of Qassem Suleimani, the Iranian general killed in a US drone strike on Friday.
So far today huge crowds have brought central Tehran to a standstill as mourners flooded the Iranian capital to pay a homage to Suleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ powerful Quds Force. The country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly wept as he led prayers for Suleimani, who was one of Iran’s most popular public figures.
Late on Sunday, Donald Trump defended his threat to target Iranian cultural sites if Tehran retaliates for the killing of Suleimani. The US president also lashed out at Iraq following its parliament’s demand for American troops to be expelled from that country, and vowed to respond with crippling sanctions.
Over the weekend the Trump administration scrambled to justify its claim that the killing of Iran’s most powerful general was about stopping a war rather than starting one, as tensions spiralled by the hour.
Later on Monday Nato ambassadors will meet at their Brussels headquarters to discuss the killing, surprised many of Washington’s allies and triggered calls for de-escalation.