The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the Middle East as he headed to Brussels for talks with his German and French counterparts.
Britain, Germany and France have called for a de-escalation of tension in the region following the assassination of the top Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani in a US drone strike last week
Continue reading...Dozens of people have been killed in a crush in the south-eastern Iranian city of Kerman, where hundreds of thousands of mourners have gathered for the burial of the military commander Qassem Suleimani, according to state media.
The vast crowds in Suleimani's home town matched the huge turnouts in Baghdad, Tehran, Qom, Mashhad and Ahvaz in recent days to say farewell to the commander of the Revolutionary Guards external operations force, who was killed by a US drone strike in Iraq on Friday
Continue reading...Iran’s supreme leader wept as he led prayers in Tehran at the funeral of Qassem Suleimani, the general killed by a US drone strike last week. Mourners, which state media said numbered in the millions, chanted 'death to America'. Donald Trump has defended his threat to target Iranian cultural sites – widely seen as a war crime – if Tehran retaliates for the killing
Continue reading...Tehran has vowed revenge for the killing of Qassem Suleimani but conflict is not yet certain
The threats emanating from Twitter feeds and podiums in Tehran and Washington might suggest the moment for diplomacy has long passed, and some form of war between the US and Iran following the assassination of Qassem Suleimani is now inevitable.
The only consideration that might hold the two sides back is the possible consequences. Tehran has tasted the unpredictability of Donald Trump and however much the desire for revenge beats in the hearts of Iranians, European leaders are pleading with Tehran’s leadership, saying it has a responsibility to use its head and recognise any direct attack on US assets in the Middle East is likely to be met with a further escalation by Trump.
Continue reading...In the north-east city of Mashhad, mourners accompanied a casket carrying the Iranian general's remains. Earlier that day, his body had been taken to Ahvaz, in the south-west. Iran has threatened 'harsh retaliation' for the US strike that killed the top military commander.
Continue reading...Thousands have gathered across Iran and Iraq to mourn the death of Iran's top general, Qassem Suleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad. Mourners chanted 'death to America' and burned US flags as Iranian authorities vowed vengeance for Suleimani's death
The Iraqi television channel Ahad TV has shared CCTV footage purporting to show the moment a US drone strike killed Iran's top general, Qassem Suleimani
Continue reading...Thousands of mourners have attended a funeral procession for Iran's top general, Qassem Suleimani, in Baghdad. His body, along with others killed in a US drone strike on Friday, were taken on a procession through the Iraqi capital before a public farewell in Tehran on Sunday. Marchers, many of them in tears, chanted 'death to America, death to Israel'
Continue reading...Thousands of mourners attend funeral procession for Iranian general killed in US airstrike
Thousands of mourners have marched in a funeral procession through Baghdad for Iran’s top general and Iraqi militant leaders, who were killed in a US airstrike, chanting: “Death to America.”
The bodies of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and others killed in a US drone strike were taken on a funeral procession starting in Baghdad on Saturday before a public farewell for the slain military leader in Tehran on Sunday, according to officials in Iran.
Continue reading...Donald Trump said the USA was prepared to take 'whatever action is necessary' if Iran targeted US citizens in response to the killing of its top general, Qassam Suleimani. Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump said Suleimani was responsible for 'acts of terror' that had destabilised the Middle East, but said that he was not seeking regime change in Iran
Continue reading...World reacts to news of US drone strike ordered by Donald Trump on Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad
Defense officials told the AP that nearly 3,000 more troops from the 82nd Airborne Division would be deployed to the Middle East amid fears of reprisals against the US for the killing of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani.
The AP reports:
The United States is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast as reinforcements in the volatile aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump, defense officials said Friday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision not yet announced by the Pentagon, said the troops are from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They are in addition to about 700 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne who deployed to Kuwait earlier this week after the storming of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad by Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters.
The commander of the Quds force, which was previously run by the late general Qassem Suleimani, advised Iranians to “be patient” following the US drone strike and witness the deaths of Americans across the Middle East.
Breaking News: @AJABreaking News alert: Al Quds Force Commander Ismail Qaani: we say be patient, soon you will witness the bodies of Americans in all of the Middle East https://t.co/88y3cgW5XV
Continue reading...Iran has vowed revenge for a US airstrike at Baghdad international airport that killed Gen Qassem Suleimani, the head of the elite Quds force and architect of Iran’s spreading military influence in the Middle East
Continue reading...Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets after a US airstrike killed Qassem Suleimani, the country's most powerful military chief. Protesters burned American flags and chanted 'Down with the USA'. Iran has declared three days of national mourning and vowed 'severe revenge' for Suleimani's death
Man who died alongside Suleimani was important Shia leader in post-Saddam era
A few days before his assassination in an American drone strike, Jamal Jafaar Mohammed Ali Ebrahimi – known more widely by his nom de guerre of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis – addressed a crowd of his supporters in Iraq.
“The US ambassador, the Americans and their intelligence agencies must not think that they can sustain their control over their bases in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon,” he said, in the aftermath of US strikes that had killed two dozen members of the militia he founded.
Continue reading...The White House said Donald Trump ordered an airstrike that killed the powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The attack came amid Iranian tensions with the US after thousands of Iraqis stormed the US embassy compound in Baghdad this week. The killing of Suleimani presents a dramatic escalation of an already bloody struggle between Washington and Tehran for influence across the region
Quds leader was extraordinarily successful in reshaping the region in wake of Iraq war and Syrian revolution
US drone strikes in Baghdad on Friday morning have killed not just one of the most influential men in Iran but also in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, too.
Qassem Suleimani had become well known among Iranians in past years and was sometimes discussed as a future president. Yet the leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force was still a relatively obscure figure outside a region that he may have done more than anyone to reshape.
Continue reading...Rocket or drone attack on motorcade kills senior figure linked to embassy siege as well as ‘guests’ believed to be Iranians
A top official of an Iraqi Shia militia organisation has been reported killed in a motorcade outside Baghdad airport, raising the stakes in an already tense standoff between the US and pro-Iranian forces in Iraq’s capital.
The Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) announced that its head of public relations and protocol, Mohammed Ridha, was killed in a vehicle as he was escorting “guests” from the airport. Some reports said the attack was carried out by a drone, others that it was a volley of rockets.
Continue reading...Up to 3,000 soldiers to be sent in as pro-Iran militants leave US embassy in Iraqi capital
Iranian-backed militants have ended a day-long siege of the American embassy in Baghdad following an order from their militia organisation, but the struggle between the US and Iran for influence in Iraq looked set to intensify further in 2020.
The US defence secretary, Mark Esper, announced that 750 airborne troops would be deployed to the region immediately, with more to follow in the next few days. Up to 3,000 soldiers are reportedly being prepared to move out to the Middle East, adding to the 14,000 sent there since May in an effort to counter Iran.
Continue reading...Mobbing of US embassy after US strikes on state-sanctioned militia show America’s plan of maximum pressure only added to chaos
The mobbing of a US embassy has historically served as an emblem of America in decline, so the scenes around the embattled mission in Baghdad are a fitting end to the decade.
Related: Trump accuses Iran over storming of US embassy compound in Baghdad
Continue reading...Washington humiliated as hundreds storm American compound chanting slogans in support of pro-Iranian militias
Protesters in Iraq have dealt a symbolic blow to US prestige after they stormed the American embassy compound in Baghdad, trapping diplomats inside while chanting “death to America” and slogans in support of pro-Iranian militias.
In a humiliating day for Washington, hundreds of supporters of Iraqi Shia militia, many wearing military fatigues, besieged the US compound, at one point breaching the main gate and smashing their way into several reception rooms. They lit fires, battered down doors, and threw bricks at bulletproof glass.
Continue reading...