US Presence Cause of Insecurity: Khamenei Tells Visiting Iraq PM

By Amir Havasi

Iran's supreme leader told Iraq's visiting premier on Tuesday that Tehran will not interfere in Baghdad's relations with Washington, but warned that the US presence next door to Iran was a cause of insecurity.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi of Iraq met Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the Iranian capital during his first trip abroad since taking office.

"Iran will not interfere in Iraq's relations with America but expects Iraqi friends to know America and realize that their presence in any country causes corruption, ruin and destruction," the Iranian leader said, according to his official website.

"The Islamic republic expects... (the Iraqi) parliament's decision to expel the Americans to be adhered to since their presence is a cause of insecurity."

Khamenei pointed to the US killing of Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani in a January drone strike in Baghdad, after which parliament voted to expel US troops.

"They killed your guest in your house and blatantly confessed to it."

Iran "will never forget this and will certainly deal a reciprocal blow to the Americans", Khamenei said.

Iran retaliated for Soleimani's death days after by firing a volley of missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq, but US President Donald Trump opted against responding militarily.

While the attack on the western Iraqi base of Ain al-Asad left no US soldiers dead, dozens suffered brain trauma.

According to Khamenei, Iran was opposed to "whatever may weaken the Iraqi government" in contrast to the US, which he said did not want "an independent, strong Iraqi government elected by popular vote".

Tug-of-War

Kadhemi had been scheduled to visit Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia as his first trip abroad, then quickly follow it up with a trip to Tehran, in a carefully calibrated balancing act.

The Saudi leg was postponed after King Salman was hospitalised on Monday.

Baghdad has often found itself caught in the tug-of-war between Riyadh, Tehran and Washington, which Kadhemi is also set to visit within weeks.

Kadhemi rose to the premiership in May after serving as head of Iraq's National Intelligence Service for nearly four years.

He formed close ties to Tehran, Washington and Riyadh during that time, prompting speculation he could serve as a rare mediator between the capitals.

His trip to Tehran comes after he received Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif in Baghdad on Sunday.

Relations between the two countries were not always close -- they fought a bloody war from 1980 to 1988.

Tehran's influence in Baghdad grew after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq toppled the government of Saddam Hussein.

Iran is now said to have significant leverage over many of Iraq's Shiite political groups.

$20 Billion Trade Goal

Iraq's delegation includes the ministers of foreign affairs, finance, health and planning, as well as Kadhemi's national security adviser, some of whom also met their Iranian counterparts.

Kadhemi also held talks with President Hassan Rouhani to discuss closer trade ties, fighting the novel coronavirus and efforts to ensure regional stability, state television said.

"The two governments' will is to expand bilateral trade ties to $20 billion," Rouhani said after their hour-long meeting.

Iraq is one of Iran's main markets for non-oil exports but trade has dipped as the COVID-19 pandemic forced temporary border closures.

Rouhani said Iran was ready to "stand with Iraq for the stability and security of Iraq and the region".

He hailed as "heroes" Soleimani and an Iraqi commander killed alongside him in the US drone strike near Baghdad airport.

"I deem it necessary to honor the two heroes of the fight against terrorism, martyrs General Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis," he said.

The Iranian president also pledged to help Baghdad fight coronavirus.

Iran says COVID-19 has claimed more than 14,600 lives and infected 278,800 in the country, while Iraq has reported close to 4,000 virus deaths and 97,000 cases.

Photo: IRNA

US Congress Passes Final Resolution to Restrain Trump on Iran

The US Congress on Wednesday gave its final approval to a resolution to restrain President Donald Trump from attacking Iran after months of soaring tensions.

The House of Representatives voted 227-186 to join the Senate in support of the resolution, which bars any military action against Iran without an explicit vote from Congress.

But the resolution is virtually certain to be vetoed by Trump, and the coalition of most Democrats and a handful of war-skeptic Republicans lacks the votes to override him.

The House voted moments after a rocket fired on a military base north of Baghdad killed an American soldier, a British soldier and a US contractor, in the deadliest attack on foreign forces in Iraq in several years.

A previous attack in December that killed a US contractor set off a chain of escalation after the United States blamed Iranian-aligned Iraqi Shiite militias.

On January 3, Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Iran's most powerful general, Qassem Soleimani, at the Baghdad airport.

Supporters of the resolution said they wanted to ensure that Congress has the unique power to declare war, as outlined in the US Constitution.

"There are a lot of countries in the world where one person makes the decision. They're called dictators," said Representative Steny Hoyer, the second highest-ranking Democrat in the House.

"Our Founding Fathers did not want dictators running America," he said.

The Soleimani strike angered Iraqi leaders, who called for the departure of US forces, with some questioning whether Shiite militias carried out the attack in a country that still has virulently anti-Western Islamic State fighters.

Photo: Wikicommons

Oman Sees Prospects of Talks Between Iran and U.S.

By Golnar Motevalli and Abbas Al Lawati

Oman is working to reduce tensions in the Persian Gulf and sees prospects of talks between arch-rivals Iran and the U.S., its foreign minister said.

“We are in touch with the U.S. and Iran,” Yousef Bin Alawi, Oman’s foreign minister, was cited as saying on Sunday by the state-run Oman News Agency at the Munich Security Conference. “We feel that there is a possibility of dialogue between them.”

“We don’t expect military military confrontation in the region at the moment,” Bin Alawi added.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a press briefing in Tehran that “there is no complicated, unresolvable issue between Iran and Saudi Arabia,” but as far as the U.S. is concerned, his country will “never come to the negotiating table in weakness.”

Rouhani’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, told journalists at the Munich conference that Saudia Arabia showed willingness to hold talks shortly after the U.S. killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Tehran replied positively to Riyadh’s overture, but Saudi officials didn’t continue the exchange, IRNA reported, citing comments Zarif made to reporters at the conference on Saturday.Tensions in the Persian Gulf escalated after the Soleimani killing on Jan. 3. He was Iran’s most senior military commander and a driving force of the country’s strategy of building a network of proxy forces to counter the U.S. in the region.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud denied any talks and accused Iran of behaving in a way that threatens global security, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

Photo: IRNA

Iran's Rouhani Sounds Alarm for 'Democracy' After Candidates Barred

Iran's president warned Monday of threats to the Islamic republic's "democracy and national sovereignty", after a body dominated by his ultra-conservative rivals disqualified thousands of candidates, weeks before elections.

President Hassan Rouhani's moderate conservatives and their reformist allies are locked in a public quarrel with the Guardian Council over the disqualification of thousands of candidates—including 92 sitting MPs.

The council, which oversees Iran's elections, says it has barred some 9,500 potential candidates from standing, almost two thirds of the 14,500 hopefuls.

Rouhani, whose alliance fears losing its majority in the February 21 polls, said the disqualifications risked appointments being made "elsewhere" than the ballot box.

"The greatest danger for democracy and national sovereignty is the day when elections become a formality," the government's website quoted Rouhani as saying in a meeting with provincial governors.

"May God never bring this day," he added.

"Let us reassure the people and tell them our system is not a single-party system."

In an apparent reference to ultra-conservatives, he said "they should at least let there be competition and participation".

He called on Iranians of all stripes to vote, "even if... there are shortcomings in elections".

"Sometime I may not want to vote for some reason, but some other time I may not have enough trust to go to the ballot box; this is very dangerous," he said.

Candidates who are disqualified are allowed to appeal before the elections.

The polls come after a traumatic month for Iran, in which it approached the brink of war with the United States and mistakenly shot down a passenger jet.

A US drone strike in Iraq killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani on January 3, and Iran retaliated five days later by launching a wave of missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq.

Hours later, with Iranian forces on high alert, its air defences mistakenly shot down a Ukraine International Airlines passenger jet, killing all 176 people on board.

The disaster triggered scattered protests in Tehran and other cities, although they appeared smaller than nationwide demonstrations in November, sparked by a fuel price hike, in which Amnesty International said at least 300 people died.

Photo: IRNA

U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Hit in Katyusha Rocket Attack

Five Katyusha rockets were fired at the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad Sunday night, targeting the U.S. embassy compound there, Iraq’s security forces reported.

No injuries were reported but one of the rockets directly hit the embassy building itself.

Attacks against the Green Zone and the U.S. embassy in Baghdad by Iran-linked militia groups have increased in recent months, especially after the U.S. airstrike earlier this month that killed Iran’s top commander Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the head of Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah.

Outgoing Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi condemned the attack, vowing to protect the diplomatic missions in the country.

“These acts may drag the country into a battlefield, especially at a time when we started to implement the decision to withdraw foreign troops from Iraq,” he said in a statement.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Photo: Centcom

Iran Threatens Non-Proliferation Treaty Exit Over European Move

By Arsalan Shahla

Iran will withdraw from a major non-proliferation treaty if European nations attempt to refer the Islamic Republic to the UN Security Council over its infringements of the 2015 nuclear deal, the country’s foreign minister said.

The U.K., France and Germany said last week they would trigger the accord’s dispute resolution mechanism, which could eventually mean the matter being referred to the Security Council. The move inflamed tensions with Tehran, which is locked in an economic confrontation with the U.S. that this month sparked a military exchange.

“If Europeans continue their untenable conduct or send Iran’s nuclear case to the United Nations Security Council, we will withdraw from the N.P.T.,” Mohammad Javad Zarif told lawmakers, referring to the international treaty to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, the official parliamentary news service ICANA reported.

Iran was an early signatory of the 1970 treaty, which was designed to eventually lead to disarmament. Non-nuclear weapons states that are signatories, including Iran, agree not to pursue weapons and to only develop peaceful atomic technology.

Earlier on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Iran is planning “one last step” in its gradual draw-down from complying with the nuclear deal, raising the possibility that it’s close to announcing a complete withdrawal from the embattled international accord. The final measure will have “more effective consequences,” Mousavi said.

Iran has been gradually reducing its compliance with the 2015 accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, since U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned it and began reimposing sanctions on the country’s economy.

Earlier this month, Iran announced it’s no longer observing limits on uranium enrichment or research and development activities, but insisted it was still working within the parameters of the deal and would continue cooperating with United Nations nuclear inspectors.

President Hassan Rouhani last week said all the steps could still be reversed as soon as Europe was able to commit to the agreement and take concrete steps allowing Iran to sell oil.

Days before European nations turned up pressure on the Islamic Republic, the U.S. and Iran came to the brink of war after Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. As Iranian forces launched retaliatory attacks on U.S. facilities in the Middle East, they accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner over Tehran, triggering protests against the regime.

Britain has also infuriated Iran’s government by proposing that the current accord be replaced with a “Trump deal.” Mousavi said that while Iran remains open to talks with the EU on the future of the agreement, the Islamic Republic won’t agree to any proposals from either the bloc or the U.S. for an alternative to the existing deal.

Photo: IRNA

House Votes to Curb Trump Power to Strike Iran Without Congress

By Daniel Flatley

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to limit President Donald Trump’s authority to strike Iran, a mostly symbolic move Democrats say defends Congress’s constitutional powers but Republicans say endangers national security.

The resolution was adopted on a 224-194 vote, as tensions in the Middle East remain high after a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Iran retaliated with missiles striking an Iraqi base used by U.S. troops late Tuesday, without casualties, leaving uncertainty about future hostilities.

With Thursday’s resolution, the House is saying that Congress should be consulted before the conflict with Iran escalates. The Senate now can either consider the House-passed measure or move forward with a different version introduced by Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia.

The effort to constrain Trump’s power was backed by three Republicans but faces tough odds in the GOP-led Senate. Still, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the measure has “real teeth,” citing the 1973 War Powers Act to limit a president’s military options without consulting Congress.

Republicans Matt Gaetz of Florida, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Francis Rooney of Florida and independent Justin Amash of Michigan joined 220 Democrats in supporting the measure. Eight Democrats voted with 186 Republicans against it.

Democrats criticized the Trump administration for failing to provide clear justification that Soleimani posed an imminent threat. Two Republican senators -- Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky -- sharply criticized Wednesday’s classified briefing led by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo for failing to address their concerns about congressional authorization for the attack.

Lee said the “insulting” briefing tipped his vote in favor of strengthening requirements for the president to consult Congress on military action.

“That briefing is what changed my mind,” Lee said Wednesday. “After today, every time they pull a stunt like this, I’m willing to consider and introduce any and every War Powers Act resolution.”

Constitutional Requirement

The House measure, sponsored by Michigan Democrat and former CIA analyst Elissa Slotkin, would require Trump to cease military actions against Iran unless authorized by Congress or in response to an imminent threat.

Republicans and at least one Democrat -- New York Representative Max Rose, an Army veteran -- criticized the House resolution as an empty gesture that plays “politics with questions of war and peace.”

The House version is a concurrent resolution that wouldn’t require Trump’s signature if passed by both chambers. The War Power Act provides for a concurrent resolution to have the force of law, although that would probably be challenged in court.

The Senate version Kaine introduced is a joint resolution, which would require the president to sign it to become law. Trump vetoed a previous resolution last year to end U.S. military involvement in Yemen, and the Senate didn’t have enough votes to override his veto.

If either Kaine’s resolution or the House version meets Senate requirements to get a privileged voting status, it would only need a simple majority to pass. With Lee and Paul saying they back Kaine’s resolution, it would need support from at least two more Republicans to pass.

Kaine said he dropped two paragraphs that referenced Trump directly after getting feedback from some Republicans he hopes to attract to his effort. GOP Senators Susan Collins and Todd Young, who have voted with Democrats for war powers resolutions in the past, said they are considering the Kaine resolution but haven’t committed to it yet.

Military Authorization

Kaine’s resolution also states explicitly that the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force don’t cover military action against Iran. The Trump administration included the 2002 AUMF as part of its justification for the drone strike near the Baghdad, Iraq, airport that killed Soleimani.

The White House on Thursday issued a statement challenging the House resolution, saying it’s unnecessary and would lack the force of law. The statement of administration policy also said the 2002 AUMF covers any military action that would be restricted under the House measure.

The statement said that if the provisions of the resolution were to become law, “they could undermine the president’s ability to defend United States forces and interests in the region against ongoing threats from Iran and its proxies.”

Kaine said earlier that it is precisely the risk of conflict with Iran that makes it so important for Congress to defend its constitutional authority to declare war.

“We’re at the brink of war right now,” Kaine said. “It increases the necessity of the bill.”

PHoto: Wikicommons

Trump Backs Away From Conflict With Iran After Harmless Attack

By Josh Wingrove and Jennifer Jacobs

President Donald Trump backed away from the precipice of war with Iran after the Islamic Republic attacked U.S. bases in Iraq with a barrage of missiles the Pentagon believes was intended to cause no casualties.

In televised remarks to the nation on Wednesday, Trump defended the U.S. strike on a top Iranian general that touched off the missile barrage and said he would impose new sanctions on Tehran.

“As long as I’m president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said as he began his speech.

But he also offered the country’s regime a diplomatic opening. Any new nuclear deal, he said, must allow “Iran to thrive and prosper, and take advantage of its enormous untapped potential. Iran can be a great country.”

Iran fired more than a dozen guided missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Qassem Soleimani. But a Pentagon analysis of the attack suggested the missiles were aimed at unpopulated parts of the bases, according to people familiar with the matter.

Satellite imagery of the bases provided by Planet Labs showed damaged aircraft hangers and other structures at the Al Asad airbase in western Iraq following the strike.

“Iran appears to be standing down,” Trump said. “Which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.”

Iran’s restraint and Trump’s measured remarks in response suggest a path toward easing tensions with Tehran, which surged after Soleimani’s killing in a U.S. drone strike near the Baghdad airport last week.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Twitter earlier Wednesday that the missile attack “concluded” Iran’s retaliation for Soleimani’s killing. Even if Tehran refrains from further direct attacks, it might still seek reprisals through more covert means, such as attacks by proxy militias or in cyberspace.

An Iranian official said earlier this week that its government was considering 13 means of retaliation that would inflict a “historic nightmare” on the U.S.

The S&P 500 pushed to a fresh intraday record after Trump’s remarks. Treasuries turned lower after spiking overnight following the Iranian attack. Oil fell below $61 a barrel in New York.

‘Top Terrorist’

Trump said Soleimani was “the world’s top terrorist” and was “personally responsible for some of the absolutely worst atrocities,” including the training of “terrorist armies” and “fueling bloody civil wars across the region.” He said Iranian weapons Soleimani supplied to Iraqi militants had injured or killed thousands of U.S. troops.

Trump had threatened to strike 52 Iranian targets were any Americans killed in Tehran’s reprisals for Soleimani’s death.

The Pentagon said that the two bases struck by Iranian missiles -- the sprawling Al Asad airbase in western Iraq, and a smaller base near the city of Erbil -- had already been on high alert, and Iraq’s government said it had been forewarned of the Iranian attack. There were no Iraqi casualties from the Iranian strike.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the attacks on the bases as a “crushing response.”

“Last night, they got a slap in the face,” he said on state television. He again demanded that the U.S. presence in the Mideast come to an end, a sign that Tehran’s ultimate goal remains to push the American military out of Iraq.

Nuclear Accord

Trump escalated tensions with Iran in 2018 by withdrawing from the nuclear accord negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and reimposing sanctions that have crushed the Iranian economy. Iran responded by arming and directing proxy militias across the region that have caused trouble for the U.S. and its allies in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

The missiles Iran fired at U.S. bases on Wednesday, Trump claimed, “were paid for by the funds made available by the last administration.” He provided no substantiation, but has frequently criticized Obama for releasing frozen Iranian assets to Tehran after the nuclear accord was completed.

Soleimani, regarded as the second most powerful person in Iran, commanded the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force, the expeditionary arm of the Iranian military that provided support for proxy groups. Trump ordered him killed after a Dec. 27 rocket attack on a joint U.S.-Iraqi base near Kirkuk resulted in the death of an American contractor. The U.S. blamed the attack on an Iran-backed militia and killed its leader in the strike on Soleimani.

Trump has said that Soleimani was planning “imminent” attacks on U.S. forces in the Mideast, though his administration has provided little evidence for the claim.

Democrats and a few Republicans have criticized the Soleimani strike, saying it would endanger U.S. diplomatic and military personnel in the region. Administration officials will provide classified briefings to Congress later on Wednesday.

Photo: White House

Iran Retaliates With Missile Strike on U.S.-Iraqi Bases

By Glen Carey

Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at U.S.-Iraqi airbases, a direct attack on American forces in the region that risks further action from President Donald Trump after a U.S. air strike killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani last week.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the barrage, which the Pentagon said was launched from Iran. Fifteen missiles were fired, 10 of which hit the Ayn al-Asad base in western Iraq and another facility in Erbil, according to two U.S. officials. Another struck the Taji air base near Baghdad while four fell out of the sky.

Stocks dropped and oil rose on news of the Iranian strike, though crude later pared its gains. The big concern is the extent of any U.S. casualties, because that is likely to influence the White House thinking on potential retaliation. For now no U.S. nor Iraqi casualties have been confirmed.

Some sort of response had been expected to the killing of Soleimani, who ran Iran’s proxy operations across the Middle East and was close to the country’s leaders. While Tehran does not want outright war with the U.S., there was growing pressure at home to react. The balancing act was to do so without tipping things into a conflict that no-one has appetite for.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke on state television and described the attack as a “crushing response.” He called again for the U.S. presence in the region to end, a sign that Tehran’s ultimate goal remains to push the U.S. military out of Iraq. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter the government “concluded proportionate measures in self-defense” after the Soleimani strike. “We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression,” Zarif wrote.

In Tehran the mood on Wednesday was cautious, with ordinary people taking to Twitter to voice their fears of a war.

President Donald Trump tweeted “All is well!” and “So far, so good!” while adding that battle damage assessments continued. He added he’ll make a statement Wednesday morning. Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have soared under Trump, who walked away from the Iranian nuclear deal agreed by his predecessor. Since then, Iran has warned repeatedly the restraints on its nuclear program will be removed.

Trump was joined in the White House Situation Room after the attack by officials including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Joint Chiefs Chairman Army General Mark Milley and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien.

One White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the early thinking was the missile strike was a perfunctory move that would let Iran retaliate without incurring a potentially devastating U.S. counter-assault.

Iran’s attack sent futures on the S&P 500 Index down as much as 1.7% before paring losses. Gold initially advanced to the highest since 2013, though those gains were trimmed along with an advance in oil which at one point surged above $65 a barrel.

U.S. aviation regulators issued new restrictions barring civilian flights over Iraq, Iran, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Adding to the confusion, a Boeing Co. 737 passenger jet bound for Ukraine crashed shortly after takeoff in Iran, killing all 167 passengers and 9 crew on board, with Iran’s media reporting it was due to a technical problem.

“A missile attack from Iran against U.S. forces is a serious escalation,” said Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior director for Middle East affairs under President George W. Bush. Such an attack “cannot be regarded as merely symbolic or face-saving regardless of its results,” he added.

Trump has shown restraint in previous attacks in the region blamed on Iran that didn’t kill any U.S. citizens. But Iran’s quick claim of responsibility for the strike and the targeting of U.S. military outposts make some sort of retaliation more likely.

“The next question is, does the U.S. react or overreact to this,” said Jarrett Blanc, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former State Department coordinator for Iran nuclear implementation.

Iran is believed to have the region’s largest stockpile of short-range ballistic missiles, and a large number of American military and diplomatic facilities in the region were seen as potential targets for reprisals.

“As we evaluate the situation and our response, we will take all necessary measures to protect and defend U.S. personnel, partners, and allies in the region,” according to a Pentagon statement.

The Ayn al-Asad base is a key U.S. facility in the country. Pence visited it late last year and Trump was there in December 2018. A Facebook account belonging to the Iraqi prime minister’s office said 22 missiles entered Iraqi airspace early Wednesday, and 17 hit Ayn al-Asad. It said there were no casualties among the Iraqi forces.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that further responses will come. It called the attack the start of its “Martyr Soleimani” operation, in honor of a leader many Iranians considered a national hero for his exploits in conflicts from Syria to Yemen.

At his funeral on Tuesday, Hossein Salami, leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, threatened to “set ablaze” places supported by the U.S., the Associated Press reported. The general’s burial was postponed after dozens of mourners died in a stampede.

Even so, Zarif’s comments cast some doubt on about whether more action is really in the works. Iran has for years operated a carefully-calibrated strategy of attacks, often via proxies, in the Middle East, that preserves its influence without drawing major retaliation. Crippled by economic sanctions, Iran can ill-afford an outright war.

Before the latest attack, Iran said it was assessing 13 scenarios for retaliation according to comments by Ali Shamkhani, head of Iran’s national security council, reported by the semi-official Fars news agency.

Iran “needed to do something quick,” said Kamran Bokhari, founding director of the Center for Global Policy in Washington. “This is a placeholder move and a low cost one.”

The U.S. had vowed a quick and overwhelming response to any Iranian attacks. Over the past week, the Pentagon deployed about 3,500 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne to Kuwait and another three Navy ships with about 2,200 Marines to the Persian Gulf region.

Iranian-only targets for the U.S. include Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy vessels in the Persian Gulf, nuclear facilities, military bases, ports and oil installations, according to a Tuesday report by the Congressional Research Service. Another option: Iranian proxies.

U.S. officials say they were justified in targeting Soleimani, who was accused of having helped Iraqi insurgents target American troops with improvised explosive devices following the U.S. invasion in 2003.

Drone Strike

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran soared following a Dec. 27 rocket assault on an Iraqi base. It killed an American contractor and wounded several U.S. personnel. The U.S. put the blame on Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia closely associated with Iran.

On Dec. 29, the U.S. conducted air strikes on five bases in Iraq and Syria used by Kataib Hezbollah. Two days later, dozens of Iraqi militiamen and their supporters stormed the U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad. The U.S. responded with the drone strike on Soleimani.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that attacks planned by Soleimani, who headed the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, were “days away” when the U.S. struck.

Photo: AFP

Dozens Killed in Stampede at Iran General's Funeral

By Amir Havasi

Dozens of people were crushed to death after a stampede broke out Tuesday during a massive funeral procession for a top Iranian general assassinated in a US drone strike.

The tragedy came as grieving crowds packed the hometown of Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, a hugely popular figure in the Islamic republic.  More than 50 people were killed and 212 people injured in the stampede in Kerman, semi-official news agency ISNA said, citing the emergency services chief in the southeastern city, Mohammad Saberi.

Anxious Iranians gathered outside a city hospital to check the lists of victims or show doctors pictures of their missing relatives.

AFP correspondents in Kerman said the streets were filled with mourners, while others took refuge on hillsides around the city, where the general was to be buried at the martyrs' cemetery.

Soleimani, the head of the Guards' Quds Force foreign operations arm, was killed on Friday in a US strike near Baghdad international airport, an operation that shocked Iran.

"The enemy killed him unjustly," the Revolutionary Guards' top commander, Major General Hossein Salami said, adding the process of "expelling the United States from the region has begun.”

"Our will is firm. We also tell our enemies that we will take revenge, and that if they (strike again) we will set fire to what they love," he told the sea of black-clad mourners.

Schoolgirls joined chants of "Death to Trump" from the crowd, an AFP correspondent reported.

Tuesday's funeral comes after days of processions through the southwestern city of Ahvaz and the shrine cities of Qom and Mashhad as well as the capital Tehran.

The assassination of Soleimani set off an escalating war of words between Iran and the United States.

In Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani on Monday warned Trump to "never threaten" Iran, after the US leader issued a US strike list of 52 targets in the Islamic republic.

On Tuesday, Iranian lawmakers voted to designate all US forces around the world "terrorists" over Soleimani's killing.

Parliament also agreed to bolster the coffers of the Quds Force, which Soleimani led, by $244 million.

'Boils the Blood'

In Kerman, people converged from afar on Azadi Square where two flag-draped coffins were on display, with the second one reportedly containing the remains of Soleimani's closest aide, Brigadier General Hossein Pourjafari.

"We're here today to pay respects to the great commander of the holy defence," said one of the mourners who came from the southern city of Shiraz.

"Haj Qasem was not only loved in Kerman, or Iran, but also the whole world," Hemmat Dehghan told AFP.

“The security of the whole world, Muslims, Shiites, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and especially Iran, all owe it to him," said the 56-year-old war veteran.

Another mourner said Soleimani's assassination "boils the blood of the Iranian people".

"He was seen as a great man who was ready to serve his people both then in the war and now. He must certainly be avenged," said Sara Khaksar, an 18-year-old student.   Friday's assassination of Soleimani, 62, heightened international concern about a new war in the volatile Middle East.

Iraq's parliament has demanded the government expel the 5,200 American troops stationed in the country in response to the drone attack which also killed top Iraqi military figure Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Baghdad requested in a letter to the UN—seen by AFP—that the Security Council condemn the US strike so that "the law of the jungle" is not allowed to prevail.

The operation represented "a dangerous escalation that could lead to a devastating war in Iraq, the region and the world," wrote Iraq's UN ambassador Mohammed Hussein Bahr-Aluloom. 

'Path of Sobriety' 

On Sunday night, the US mistakenly notified Baghdad of an imminent troop pullout in a letter that sparked confusion in Washington.

"We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure," said the letter, whose authenticity was confirmed to AFP by both Iraqi and US defense officials. 

In the letter, US Brigadier General William Seely said the US-led coalition would "be repositioning forces".

But Pentagon Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley said the letter was a mere "draft" that was sent by mistake.   Germany said Tuesday it was withdrawing some of its troops deployed to the anti-IS coalition in Iraq.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned on Monday that Iran must avoid "further violence and provocations.”

The European Union, whose foreign ministers will hold emergency talks on the crisis Friday, said it was in both Iran and Iraq's interests to "take the path of sobriety and not the path of escalation.”

Saudi Arabia—an oil-rich US ally seen as vulnerable to Iranian counter strikes—also appealed for calm after a "very dangerous" escalation.

Iran's foreign minister said he has been informed by UN chief Antonio Guterres that Washington has denied him a visa for a planned trip to UN headquarters in New York.

"What we know is that the US State Secretary (Mike Pompeo), in a call to the Secretary General of the United Nations, said: 'We did not have time to issue a visa for Mohammad Javad Zarif and we will not issue a visa'," Zarif said.

Photo: IRNA

Qassem Soleimani Killing Leaves Trump’s Middle East Strategy in Tatters

By Nick Wadhams and David Wainer

U.S. President Donald Trump and his top aides spent the weekend arguing that the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani would deter future attacks and make the Middle East safer.

Instead, U.S. policy in the region seems to be going in the opposite direction of what Trump has long promised—with more U.S. troops going in, not fewer; an Iran defiant, not cowed and broken by sanctions; and regional allies giving only lukewarm support to Trump’s airstrike instead of rallying around it.

Economic costs of the strike are also mounting: oil surged above $70 a barrel on Monday and equities around the world extended losses. Havens climbed, with gold rising to the highest in more than six years.

The political backlash came quickly, as the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State was forced to suspend operations and Iraq’s parliament on Sunday called for U.S. troops to withdraw. Trump responded by saying Iraq could face sanctions and would have to “reimburse” America. Iran said it would abandon limits on uranium enrichment put in place as part of a 2015 nuclear agreement that Trump abandoned in 2018.

U.S actions have “made an already volatile situation much more dangerous,” said retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis, a senior fellow at Defense Priorities who favors a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. “If you paid any attention to Iran in the last 40 years you know they will never buckle to that kind of pressure. It’s just the opposite.”

The strike on Soleimani appeared to unite Iranians after months of protests against their own government, with hundreds of thousands turning out to mourn a military chief who had made their nation -- battered by U.S. economic sanctions -- appear strong by giving Tehran leverage in conflicts from Syria to Yemen. Iran has vowed revenge, and allies including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that they’d now seek to drive out the more than 50,000 U.S. troops from the region.

“It united most political forces in Iraq against the U.S.,” said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics. “The Trump administration monstrously miscalculated by playing into Iran’s hands.”

The fight against Islamic State was immediately hampered, with the U.S.-led coalition saying it would suspend operations in Iraq to focus on protecting bases that have come under attack. Threats from Iran-backed militias have previously forced staff drawdowns in U.S. diplomatic missions across the country.

Iraq serves as the home base for operations against Islamic State. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One late Sunday that the U.S. wouldn’t leave unless it got paid back for the “billions” spent on an air base there.

“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,” he said. “It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.”

The escalating tensions hit markets starting Friday and continuing through Monday. Oil futures jumped an additional 3% on Monday after the State Department warned of a “heightened risk” of missile attacks near military and energy facilities in Saudi Arabia. Japanese, Hong Kong and South Korean equities fell, and U.S. and European futures retreated.

After Trump and Iranian officials traded public threats about future reprisals, the U.S. leader will now face questions from lawmakers returning to Washington from the end-of-year break ready to take up a bitter debate over the president’s impeachment by the Democratic-led House and a coming trial in the Republican-controlled Senate.

In the U.S., reaction to the raid has fallen mostly along party lines, with Republicans hailing the elimination of a leader responsible for terror attacks and Democrats questioning the administration’s assertion that Soleimani presented an “imminent threat.” They’re also asking whether Trump has a broader strategy or plan to deal with the aftermath.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, sent a letter to the chamber’s lawmakers announcing a vote this week on a resolution that would limit Trump’s power in any potential military actions regarding Iran.

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo argued the administration’s case on Sunday news shows after more than a dozen calls with foreign counterparts from China to Saudi Arabia.

He said there were no doubts about the intelligence behind the decision to kill Soleimani, and that any moves taken against Tehran will be “lawful.” That was a response to concerns about Trump’s threat on Saturday to hit “52 Iranian sites” including cultural targets if Tehran retaliates. Trump’s comment raised concerns because attacks against cultural property are prohibited under the Geneva Convention and the U.S. Defense Department’s rules of engagement.

“We’ll behave inside the system,” Pompeo said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

Despite Pompeo’s international outreach, there were few signs of strong support among key U.S. allies beyond Israel, while the NATO alliance planned an emergency meeting Monday to discuss growing tensions in the region. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson summed up European reaction to the strike on Soleimani, saying “we will not lament his death,” but “we are in close contact with all sides to encourage de-escalation.”

Working to the U.S. advantage is Iran’s dire economic situation following increasingly tight U.S. sanctions that have largely wiped out the country’s ability to sell oil abroad and cut it off from most trade partners. And some analysts said the political tensions in Iran will only be briefly masked by Soleimani’s death.

Pompeo seemed to minimize the significance of Iraq’s parliament calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces, suggesting that outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi—who said he was due to meet with Soleimani the morning he was killed about de-escalation efforts between Iran and Saudi Arabia—was acting under enormous pressure from Tehran.

Pompeo said the U.S. was a force for good in Iraq, 17 years after it invaded to oust Saddam Hussein. But the overthrow of the Sunni dictator in 2003 provided an opening that Iran has steadily exploited since, deepening its influence over Shia-majority Iraq. The parliament vote fell along sectarian and ethnic lines, with Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers abstaining.

It’s unlikely U.S. troops will leave Iraq anytime soon, but Sunday’s vote was damning for Trump and U.S. plans for the region. The diplomatic compound in Baghdad was constructed after the 2003 invasion to be the biggest American embassy in the world, designed to essentially serve as a forward operating base and a listening post in the Middle East.

With his latest deployment of about 3,500 troops to Kuwait, Trump has bolstered American forces by about 17,000 personnel since May, undermining his vow to get the country out of “endless wars.”

“Rarely has any single tactical move, untethered from any long-range thinking, produced so many potential strategically negative consequences for the U.S.,” said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “In one single decision you’ve undermined 17 years of a U.S. mission, fraught though it may be.”

Photo: IRNA

'Million-Strong' Homage for General Brings Tehran to Standstill

By Amir Havasi

Downtown Tehran was brought to a standstill Monday as mourners flooded the Iranian capital to pay an emotional homage to Qassem Soleimani, the "heroic" general killed in a US strike.

Young and old were packed shoulder-to-shoulder in the streets, including women dressed in black-clad chadors and others wearing loose-fitting hijabs.

Soleimani, one of Iran's most popular public figures, was killed in a US drone strike on Friday near Baghdad international airport. He was 62.

His assassination drove up tensions between arch-enemies Washington and Tehran, which has vowed "severe revenge".

"He was a hero. He defeated Daesh," said a woman in her 30s, referring to the Islamic State group.

"What America did is definitely a crime," said the woman who only gave her surname as Mohammadi.

"I'm here to mourn his martyrdom. There must be a response but we don't want war. Nobody wants war," she told AFP.

State television said it was a "several million-strong" turnout.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has vowed "severe revenge" for the US attack, presided over prayers for the slain general.

He appeared to cry beside the flag-draped coffins containing the remains of Soleimani and five other "martyrs" killed in the strike.

The streets of Tehran were so full of people that many were unable to emerge from underground metro stations, semi-official news agency ISNA reported.

"There are large crowds at metro stations but as there is also a huge crowd at the street level, it isn't possible to evacuate passengers," metro chief Farnoush Nobakht was quoted as saying.

The sheer number of mourners left many people stuck in sidestreets around Enghelab (Revolution) Street, the main route of a procession to a ceremony at Tehran University.

'Crushing Response'

It was silent in one alley until a child who climbed a tree to see if the street ahead had opened uttered "Death to America".

People within earshot soon joined in and loudly chanted the same phrase.

Chants of "Death to infidels," "Death to seditionists" and "Death to al-Saud"—a reference to the Saudi ruling family—were then heard.

But most of the anger was directed at Tehran's arch-enemy Washington and US President Donald Trump.

One man said he had come to the capital with his wife and child before dawn from Karaj, a city about 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of the Iranian capital.

"Our message to America is we will hit you. We'll make you pay for the blood you spilled," said Mehdi Ghorbani.

"America should know they started this, but we will end it," he told AFP.

A group of teenagers stood in a circle holding banners, one reading: "Haj Qasem's shoe is worth more than Trump's head".

Other mourners called for US forces to be driven out of the region.

"We must give a crushing response," one of the mourners told AFP.

"We must target whatever military base they have in the region. We must attack all that are in the range of our missiles," said the 61-year-old businessman who gave his name as Afkhami.

"Americans being thrown out (of Iraq) is not enough."

Photo: IRNA

Mourners Pack Iran Cities as Top General's Remains Return

By Amir Havasi

Mourners flooded the Iranian cities of Ahvaz and Mashhad Sunday, weeping and beating their chests in homage to top general Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a US strike in Baghdad.

"Death to America," they chanted as they packed Ahvaz's streets and a long bridge spanning a river in the southwestern city to receive the casket containing Soleimani's remains.

As Shiite chants resonated in the air, people held portraits of the man seen as a hero of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and for spearheading Iran's Middle East operations as commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force.

In the northeastern city of Mashhad, scores took to streets around the Imam Reza shrine and, addressing the US, chanted "Be afraid of your own shadow".

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike Friday near Baghdad airport, shocking the Islamic republic. He was 62.

The attack was ordered by President Donald Trump, who said the Quds commander had been planning an "imminent" attack on US diplomats and forces in Iraq.

In the face of growing Iraqi anger over the strike, the country's parliament was expected to vote Sunday on whether to oust the roughly 5,200 American troops in Iraq.

Soleimani's assassination ratcheted up tensions between arch-enemies Tehran and Washington and sparked fears of a new Middle East war.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed "severe revenge" and declared three days of mourning.

But Trump warned late Saturday that America was targeting 52 sites "important to Iran & Iranian culture" and would hit them "very fast and very hard" if the country attacks American personnel or assets.

In a series of saber-rattling tweets, Trump said the choice of 52 targets represented the number of Americans held hostage at the US embassy in Tehran for more than a year starting in late 1979.

'Terrorist in a Suit'

Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that "targeting cultural sites is a WAR CRIME".

For Iran's army chief, Trump's threat was an attempt to distract the world from Soleimani's "unjustifiable" assassination.

"I doubt they have the courage to initiate" a conflict, said Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi.

Iran's communications minister, Mohammad Javad Jahromi, branded Trump a "terrorist in a suit" and said in a tweet that he is "like ISIS, like Hitler, like Genghis (Khan)! They all hate cultures".

US-Iran tensions escalated in 2018 when Trump unilaterally withdrew from a landmark accord that gave Tehran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

A year on, Iran began hitting back by reducing its nuclear commitments with a series of steps every 60 days, the most recent deadline passing on Saturday.

Its foreign ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said Tehran would finalise the fifth step in a meeting on Sunday night, noting the nature of its move was altered by Soleimani's killing.

On Sunday, thousands of mourners dressed in black gathered in Ahvaz.

Crowds massed in Mollavi Square with flags in green, white and red—depicting the blood of "martyrs".

"A glorious crowd is at the ceremony," said state television.

In Tehran, deputies chanted "Death to America" for a few minutes during a regular session of parliament.

"Trump, this is the voice of the Iranian nation, listen," said speaker Ali Larijani.

Soleimani's remains and those of five other Iranians—all Guards members—killed in the US drone strike had arrived at Ahvaz airport before dawn, semi-official news agency ISNA said.

With them were the remains of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary umbrella group, who was also killed in the US strike.

Soleimani's remains arrived in Mashhad in the afternoon and are due to be flown to Tehran for more tributes on Sunday evening.

On Monday, Khamenei is expected to pray over Soleimani's remains at Tehran University before a procession to Azadi Square.

His remains are then due to be taken to the holy city of Qom for a ceremony at Masumeh shrine, ahead of a funeral Tuesday in his hometown Kerman.

Cyber Attack

In neighbouring Iraq, pro-Iran factions ramped up pressure on US installations with missiles and warnings to Iraq's troops late Saturday.

In the first hints of a possible retaliatory response, two mortar rounds struck Saturday near the US embassy in Baghdad, security sources said.

Almost simultaneously, two rockets slammed into the Al-Balad airbase where American troops are deployed.

Iraq said there were no casualties. The US military also said no coalition troops were hurt.

Photo: IRNA

Pompeo: Europe Not 'Helpful' as Could be over Soleimani Killing

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that Washington's European allies had not been "as helpful" as he hoped over the US killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.

Pompeo called officials worldwide to discuss the attack, which was praised by US President Donald Trump's Republicans and close ally Israel, but elsewhere met with sharp warnings it could inflame regional tensions.

"I spent the last day and a half, two days, talking to partners in the region, sharing with them what we were doing, why we were doing it, seeking their assistance. They've all been fantastic," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News.

"And then talking to our partners in other places that haven't been quite as good. Frankly, the Europeans haven't been as helpful as I wish that they could be," he said.

US officials said Soleimani, who had been blacklisted by the US, was killed when a drone hit his vehicle near Baghdad's international airport.

Following the assassination, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell called on all involved actors "to exercise maximum restraint and show responsibility in this crucial moment." 

Meanwhile French President Emmanuel Macron urged those involved to act with "restraint" while British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said de-escalation would be key.

"The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well," Pompeo said.

"This was a good thing for the entire world, and we are urging everyone in the world to get behind what the United States is trying to do to get the Islamic Republic of Iran to simply behave like a normal nation," he added.

Pompeo said earlier in the day that Soleimani was planning imminent action that threatened American citizens when he was killed in the strike.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Awards Highest Honor to Guards Elite Force Chief

The commander of the Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, a key figure in the battle against the Islamic State group, has received Iran's highest military award, the country's supreme leader announced Monday.

The major general, whose unit runs foreign operations, is regarded as the mastermind of Iran's military strategy in the region.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei awarded him with the "Order of Zulfaqar", the leader's office tweeted.

Soleimani became the first to receive the award since the 1979 Islamic revolution, according to Tasnim news agency.

The general has been the public face of Iran's support for the Iraqi and Syrian governments in their battles with Islamic State group jihadists.

He reportedly landed in Baghdad only hours after IS captured Iraq's second city Mosul in 2014 and threatened to overrun the capital.

In Islamic tradition, Zulfaqar is the name of the double-pointed sword said to have been given by Prophet Mohammed to his son-in-law Ali.

Photo Credit: Khamenei.ir