Anniversary of Soleimani Assassination Sparks Outrage in Iraq

Baghdad on Sunday became the scene of massive anti-United States protests, as tens of thousands took to the streets to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the death of Iran’s top general at the hands of Washington and demand the end of America’s presence in Iraq. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force, was killed last January when a US drone bombed his convoy at Baghdad International Airport. The masses of pro-Iran demonstrators on Sunday chanted anti-US and anti-Israel slogans and called for the immediate expulsion of the approximately 5,000 remaining American troops in the country. The Pentagon has in recent days warned of heightened tensions in the region as the anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination approached, and US forces in the area have been put on high alert. Washington’s diplomatic compound in the Iraqi capital has come under repeated attacks over the past year by pro-Iranian factions of the Iraqi military, leading the US to threaten Baghdad’s government with a complete withdrawal of its military and diplomatic presence.