>>7711537

Iraq military denies air strike took place north of Baghdad

The strike targeted a convoy of Popular Mobilization Forces medics near Taji stadium in Baghdad. (File/AFP)

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Updated 04 January 2020

Reuters

January 04, 2020 02:11

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The air strikes come a day after Iranian official Qassem Soleimani was killed

Iraqi army sources said 6 were killed and 3 wounded in the attack

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s military denied on Saturday an air strike had taken place on a medical convoy in Taji, north of Baghdad.

Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces umbrella grouping of paramilitary groups had said earlier on Saturday said that an air strike targeting its fighters hit a convoy of medics.

However, the PMF later issued another statement saying that no medical convoys were targeted in Taji.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1608051/middle-east

World

3 Jan, 22:49Updated at: 4 Jan, 00:43

US coalition did not conduct air strikes north of Baghdad - representative

As As-Sumariya television channel reported earlier, on Saturday night, the US Air Force attacked a Shiite militia column Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, which carried medical personnel

© EPA-EFE/KYLE TALBOT/US MARINE CORPS

WASHINGTON DC, January 4. /TASS/. The US denies reports of airstrikes in the area of Al-Taji north of Baghdad, Colonel Miles Cuggins, the official representative of the Inherent Resolve twitted on Saturday.

"The coalition Inherent Resolve did not conduct airstrikes near Camp Taji (north of Baghdad) in recent days," he wrote.

As As-Sumariya television channel reported earlier, on Saturday night, the US Air Force attacked a Shiite militia column Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, which carried medical personnel.

https://tass.com/world/1105619

World

3 Jan, 18:22Updated at: 19:05

US delivered air strike against Shia militia cortege in Bagdad suburbs - TV

Six individuals were killed and three were wounded as a result of the strike, according to the TV channel

© AP Photo/Nasser Nasser

CAIRO, January 4. /TASS/. An air strike was made against a cortege of Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi Shia militia vehicles in Bagdad suburbs on Saturday, Sky News Arabia TV Channel reports.

Vehicles with commanding representatives of Al-Hashd militia was attacked from the air in Taji District to the north of Baghdad, the TV Channel says.

The strike by the US Air Force hit the column with doctors of the Shia militia, Iraqi’s Al Sumaria TV Channel said, citing the statement made by the militia.

Commanders of the militia were not injured as a result of the strike, Baghdad Al Youm web portal said, citing militia sources. "We can confirm that the strike was delivered in the Taji stadium area. No militia leaders are among casualties," militia sources said.

The strike targeted one of militia commanders, Al Sumaria TV Channel reported earlier. Six individuals were killed and three were wounded as a result of the strike, according to the TV channel.

https://tass.com/world/1105603

World Health Organisation ‘closely monitoring’ China’s viral pneumonia outbreak

UN body says it is in close contact with the authorities over mysterious strain of illness in Wuhan city

Chinese authorities say number of cases has reached 44 as efforts to identify cause of outbreak continues

Published: 5:52pm, 4 Jan, 2020

The market at the centre of the outbreak has been closed. Photo: Simon SongThe market at the centre of the outbreak has been closed. Photo: Simon Song

The market at the centre of the outbreak has been closed. Photo: Simon Song

The World Health Organisation said on Saturday that it had activated its disease incident management system and was closely monitoring the outbreak of an unidentified strain of viral pneumonia in central China.

The announcement came after the number of cases reported by Chinese authorities in Wuhan, a city with a population of 11 million, had jumped to 44 from 27 in the space of three days.

“We’re closely monitoring the situation in Wuhan and are in active communication with our counterparts in China,” the WHO’s Western Pacific regional office said in a statement.

It said the authorities in Beijing had been in contact and its incident management system had been activated at the national and regional levels and in its headquarters in Geneva.

The WHO said that it “can launch a broader response if needed”and continued:“Govt actions to control the incident have been instituted and investigations into the cause are ongoing.”

A spokeswoman for the WHO said incident management teams had been activated at all three levels on Thursday, adding that similar measures were in place for the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the global measles outbreak.

The WHO also said that China has an “extensive capacity” to respond to the incident and is taking a number of measures, including investigating the cause, isolating patients, tracing close contacts and closing the seafood market at the centre of the outbreak.

On Friday, Wuhan municipal health commission said 44 people had been admitted to hospital with the unidentified virus, up from the 27 reported on Tuesday.

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Eleven of those were in a serious condition, while a further 121 people who had been in close contact with the infected patients had been placed under medical observation. No deaths have been reported.

The commission added that there was no proof of human-to-human transmission, nor had any medical staff contracted the illness.

The outbreak has triggered concern because of the similarities with the epidemics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and bird flu which killed hundreds of people in mainland China and Hong Kong between 2002 and 2004.

Trump draws India into Iranian general Suleimani's assassination fracas

WASHINGTON: Asserting that he ordered the elimination of the Iranian general Qassim Suleimani not to start a war but to stop one, US President Donald Trump on Friday drew India into the geo-political fracas by claiming that the slain Iranian military commander was contributing to terrorist plots as far away as New Delhi and London.

The US President appeared to be alluding to the February 13, 2012, bombing of a car carrying the wife of an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi while she was on her way to collect their children from school. There were no deaths in the incident, and it was later surmised to be part of a serial bombing sequence targeting Israelis in Thailand and Georgia, ostensibly to avenge Israeli attacks on Iranian scientists. Investigation by Delhi Police also concluded that the perpetrators were connected to the Suleimani-led Iranian Revolutionary Guards, resulting in New Delhi having to warn Teheran about such incidents.

Meanwhile, amid widespread condemnation across the world and even within the US of Soleimani’s killing, President Trump and his associates are making the case that the extra-territorial assassination was merited because he was not just an Iranian general, but the commander of a terrorist organisation who conducted Iran’s proxy wars beyond its borders.

"Soleimani made the death of innocent people his sick passion, contributing to terrorist plots as far away as New Delhi and London. Today we remember and honour the victims of Suleimani's many atrocities and we take comfort in knowing that his reign of terror is over," Trump maintained in brief remarks about the extraordinary killing he had ordered of a serving general of a sovereign country.

US officials who briefed the media about the targeting strike insisted the action was defensive in nature aimed at preventing further attacks by Suleimani, of which they provided vague, sketchy accounts.

"He had just come from Damascus where he was planning attacks on American soldiers, airmen, Marines, sailors and against our diplomats. This strike was aimed at disrupting ongoing attacks that were being planned by Soleimani and deterring future Iranian attacks," US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien maintained.

Separately, secretary of state Mike Pompeo told CNN that Soleimani "was actively plotting in the region to take actions… … that would have put dozens if not hundreds of American lives at risk. We know it was imminent."

Both declined to offer details of the prospective attacks, with O’Brien calling the information "extraordinarily sensitive," while suggesting more information could be released later.

US officials also pointed to the ease and comfort with which Suleimani was travelling across borders unchecked – including going unhindered through Baghdad airport (where he was assassinated) to suggest he was masterminding a proxy war against American interests in the region with Shia allies in Iraq and Syria.

However, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi told CNN that the US airstrike and assassination of a serving general "is tantamount to opening a war against Iran." In a letter to the UN secretary general, Ravanchi also said the US strike was an act of terrorism and violation of international law and warned that Iran reserves the right to counterstrike in self defence.

"The US has already started a war against Iran, not just an economic war but something beyond that by assassinating one of our top generals. There will be harsh revenge… The response for military action is a military action," he warned.

Having stirred the hornet’s nest, the US President and his associates indicated they were not itching for war, with Trump going so far as to suggest some Iranians, including sections of the leadership, maybe happy about Suleimani's assassination. He also held out an olive branch to the Iranian people.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/trump-draws-india-into-iran-general-suleimanis-assassination-fracas/articleshow/73098329.cms

US-led coalition did not conduct air strike near Taji, Iraq camp: Spokesman

Reuters | Jan 3, 2020, 23:49 IST

2

BAGHDAD: The US-led coalition fighting Islamic State said on Saturday it did not conduct any air strikes near Camp Taji north of Baghdad.

"FACT: the coalition @cjtfoir did not conduct airstrikes near Camp Taji (north of Baghdad) in recent days," a spokesman said on twitter.

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Earlier on Saturday, Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces umbrella grouping of paramilitary groups said air strikes near camp Taji had killed six people and critically wounded three.

Iraqi state television had said they were US air strikes.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/us-led-coalition-did-not-conduct-air-strike-near-taji-iraq-camp-spokesman/articleshow/73095097.cms

'Killing Soleimani will have grave consequences', Russia warns US

Russia on Friday condemned USA for the killing of Iran Revolutionary Guards General Qasem Soleimani. In a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, Russia warned US of 'grave consequences' of latter's actions.

India TV News Desk India TV News Desk

Moscow Published on: January 04, 2020 11:08 IST

'Killing Soleimani will have grave consequences', Russia warns US

'Killing Soleimani will have grave consequences', Russia warns US

Russia on Friday condemned USA for the killing of Iran Revolutionary Guards General Qasem Soleimani. In a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, Russia warned US of 'grave consequences' of the latters actions.

"We are guided by the premise that such actions are not conducive to finding solutions to the complex problems that have piled up in the Middle East. On the contrary, they lead to a new round of escalation of tensions in the region," Russia, who is an ally of Iran, said in a statement.

Soleimani was one of the most important Iranian General and travelled to Moscow several times for meetings regarding military cooperation between Iran and Russia in Syria. United Nations had slapped a ban on Soleimani in 2007 with an aim to curtail Iran's nuclear-weapon program.

"This is probably the height of cynicism," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Friday in a statement. "Washington did not appeal to the Security Council, which means that it is not interested in the world’s response (but is) interested in changing the balance of power in the region."

US President Donald Trump has come under heavy criticism domestically with political leaders from Joe Biden to Nancy Pilosi and Bernie Sanders all calling the actions reckless and accusing Trump of bringing US closer to a war with Iran.

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/killing-soleimani-will-have-grave-consequences-russia-warns-us-576157

'America is the Great Satan': Thousands mourn Iranian general killed by US in Baghdad

Qasem Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s regional policy of mobilizing militias across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, including in the war against the Islamic State group. He was also blamed for attacks on U.S. troops and American allies going back to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

AP AP

Baghdad Published on: January 04, 2020 15:51 IST

'America is the Great Satan': Thousands mourn Iranian general killed by US in Baghdad

Image Source : AP

'America is the Great Satan': Thousands mourn Iranian general killed by US in Baghdad

Thousands of mourners chanting “America is the Great Satan” marched in a funeral procession Saturday through Baghdad for Iran’s top general and Iraqi militant leaders, who were killed in a U.S. airstrike. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds force and mastermind of its regional security strategy, was killed in an airstrike early Friday near the Iraqi capital’s international airport that has caused regional tensions to soar. Iran has vowed harsh retaliation, raising fears of an all-out war. U.S. President Donald Trump says he ordered the strike to prevent a conflict. His administration says Soleimani was plotting a series of attacks that endangered American troops and officials, without providing evidence.

Washington has dispatched 3,000 troop reinforcements to the region.

Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s regional policy of mobilizing militias across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, including in the war against the Islamic State group. He was also blamed for attacks on U.S. troops and American allies going back to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The mourners, mostly men in black military fatigues, carried Iraqi flags and the flags of Iran-backed militias that are fiercely loyal to Soleimani. They were also mourning Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a senior Iraqi militia commander who was killed in the same strike.

The procession began at the Imam Kadhim shrine in Baghdad, one of the most revered sites in Shiite Islam. Mourners marched in the streets alongside militia vehicles in a solemn procession.

The mourners, many of them in tears, chanted: “No, No, America,” and “Death to America, death to Israel.” Mohammed Fadl, a mourner dressed in black, said the funeral is an expression of loyalty to the slain leaders. “It is a painful strike, but it will not shake us,” he said.

Two helicopters hovered over the procession, which was attended by Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi and leaders of Iran-backed militias.

The gates to Baghdad’s Green Zone, which houses government offices and foreign embassies, including the U.S. Embassy, were closed.

As tensions soared across the region, there were reports overnight of an airstrike on a convoy of Iran-backed militiamen north of Baghdad. Hours later, the Iraqi army denied any airstrike had taken place. The U.S.-led coalition also denied carrying out any airstrike.

The Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of mostly Iran-backed militias, and security officials had reported the airstrike in Taji, north of the capital. An Iraqi security official had said five people were killed and two vehicles were destroyed.

It was not immediately clear if another type of explosion had occurred.

Iraq, which is closely allied with both Washington and Tehran, condemned the airstrike that killed Soleimani and called it an attack on its national sovereignty. Parliament is to meet for an emergency session on Sunday, and the government has come under mounting pressure to expel the 5,200 American troops based in the country, who are there to help prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.

The U.S. has ordered all citizens to leave Iraq and closed its embassy in Baghdad, where Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters staged two days of violent protests earlier this week in which they breached the compound.

The British government has warned travelers not to go anywhere in the country except for the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and there only for trips considered essential. In its advisory, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the security situation “could deteriorate quickly,” saying citizens already in Iraq should consider leaving.

No one was hurt in the embassy protests, which came in response to U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 Iran-backed militiamen in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. said the strikes were in response to a rocket attack that killed a U.S. contractor in northern Iraq, which Washington blamed on the militias.

The killing of Soleimani comes after months of rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran stemming from Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal and restore crippling sanctions.

… body too long

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/thousands-mourn-iranian-general-qasem-soleimani-killed-by-us-in-baghdad-576243

Soleimani's body to reach Iran after Iraq funeral processions

The body of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump, will reach Tehran after funeral processions in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the cities of Najaf and Karbala, a media report said.

IANS IANS

Tehran Published on: January 04, 2020 15:22 IST

Soleimani's body to reach Iran after Iraq funeral

Image Source : AP

Soleimani's body to reach Iran after Iraq funeral processions

The body of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump, will reach Tehran after funeral processions in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the cities of Najaf and Karbala, a media report said.

Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi said the funeral procession for Lieutenant General Soleimani, who was the head of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), would be held in Baghdad on Saturday, the Tehran-based Press TV said in the report.

Speaking on Friday, Masjedi said that in a meeting with Iraq's Caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, he had been told that Iraqis had insisted that a funeral procession take place in the Iraqi capital on Saturday.

Masjedi said that the procession would honour Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Front (PMF), who was also killed in the Friday airstrike.

Iran's Deputy Ambassador to Baghdad Mousa Tabatabaie told the state-run IRNA that funeral processions for Soleimani would also be held in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

Soleimani's body will arrive in Iran, where a ceremony will be held in the holy city of Mashhad.

According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, a funeral procession for the IRGC commander will also take place in Tehran on Sunday morning, during which Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei will participate in a prayer ceremony.

The body will then be taken for burial in the city of Kerman, Soleimani's birthplace, the report said.

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/iranian-commander-qasem-soleimani-body-funeral-processions-reach-iran-after-iraq-576234

U.S.-led coalition denies conducting Baghdad air strike

A U.S. air strike on Baghdad airport on Friday killed Qassem Soleimani, Tehran’s most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing influence in the Middle East.

world Updated: Jan 04, 2020 12:27 IST

Reuters

Reuters

Baghdad

In this photo, U.S. Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne board a C-17 aircraft at Fort Bragg, N.C., to be deployed to the Middle East. In addition to these troops, the United States is sending nearly 3,000 more soldiers to the Mideast as reinforcements in the volatile aftermath of the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, defense officials said Friday, Jan. 3.

In this photo, U.S. Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne board a C-17 aircraft at Fort Bragg, N.C., to be deployed to the Middle East. In addition to these troops, the United States is sending nearly 3,000 more soldiers to the Mideast as reinforcements in the volatile aftermath of the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, defense officials said Friday, Jan. 3. (AP)

The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State said on Saturday it did not conduct any air strikes near Camp Taji north of Baghdad.

Earlier on Saturday, Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces umbrella grouping of paramilitary groups said air strikes near camp Taji had killed six people and critically wounded three.

Iraqi state television had said they were U.S. air strikes.

“FACT: the coalition … did not conduct airstrikes near Camp Taji (north of Baghdad) in recent days,” a spokesman said on twitter.

The PMF said the attacks hit a convoy of medics, not senior leaders as reported in some media.

A U.S. air strike on Baghdad airport on Friday killed Qassem Soleimani, Tehran’s most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing influence in the Middle East, and the leader of Iraq’s PMF Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

The overnight attack, authorised by U.S. President Donald Trump, was a major escalation in a “shadow war” in the Middle East between Iran and the United States and American allies, principally Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The PMF are holding an elaborate funeral procession for both men and others who died in the same air strike starting in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, moving towards the Shi’ite holy city of Kerbala and ending in the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf.

Thousands had already gathered in Baghdad ahead of the start of the procession early on Saturday morning, some waving Iraqi and militia flags.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/u-s-led-coalition-denies-conducting-baghdad-air-strike/story-8MBlQZOnyC8ChosvvdA51N.html

In building case against Soleimani, Trump cites New Delhi, London attacks

Soleimani was killed in a US drone-strike outside the Baghdad airport on Thursday, along with the leader of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia.

world Updated: Jan 04, 2020 12:04 IST

Yashwant Raj

Yashwant Raj

Hindustan Times, Washington

In this file photo, Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Quds Force, attends an annual rally commemorating the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, in Tehran, Iran. The U.S. airstrike that killed a prominent Iranian general in Baghdad raises tensions even higher between Tehran and Washington after months of trading attacks and threats across the wider Middle East.

In this file photo, Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Quds Force, attends an annual rally commemorating the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, in Tehran, Iran. The U.S. airstrike that killed a prominent Iranian general in Baghdad raises tensions even higher between Tehran and Washington after months of trading attacks and threats across the wider Middle East.(AP)

President Donald Trump on Friday called Iran’s Qasem Soleimani the world’s “number-one terrorist”, who had a hand in plots across the world from New Delhi to London, and said he ordered his killing to “stop a war” and not start one even as thousands of additional US troops were sent to the region.

Soleimani was killed in a US drone-strike outside the Baghdad airport on Thursday, along with the leader of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia.

Trump said Soleimani was “plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel”. But like all other American officials who said so before him, he provided no evidence. One senior official cited Soleimani’s presence in Baghdad as proof enough. “He’s not there on vacation,” he told reporters.

ALSO WATCH | Qasem Soleimani killed by a US air strike, all you need to know

Watch: Qasem Soleimani killed by a US air strike, all you need to know

Iran top Commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in US drone strike on Friday. The Iran Revolutionary Guards commander was killed in Baghdad. Soleimani died in 'decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad', Pentagon said.

Current Time 0:00

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Duration 3:23

“We took action last night to stop a war,” the president went on to say as prospects of a military conflict heightened with Iran vowing revenge. “We did not take action to start a war,” he added. Just a short while before, the Pentagon had announced sending 3,500 additional troops to the region.

Trump’s reference to New Delhi as targeted by Soleimani caught Indians by surprise. But not because it came as news to them, but because they have worked hard to insulate India’s historically close ties with Iran, and their oil trade, from Tehran’s conflicts with other nations such as the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. India does not want to get dragged into this one as well, as was clear from the statement issued earlier in the day by the ministry of external affairs on Soleimani.

“Soleimani made the death of innocent people his sick passion, contributing to terrorist plots as far away as New Delhi and London,” Trump said, as seen by some experts, to address audiences outside the United States and claim and convey global salience of the strike ordered by him.

Trump was referring to the February 13, 2012, bombing of a car carrying the wife of an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi, while she was on her way to collect their children from school. Several people were wounded, but no one died.

Israeli diplomats were targeted the same day in Tbilisi, Georgia, and a day later in Bangkok, Thailand, in attacks that were blamed on Iran, as revenge for, in their view, the attacks on its scientists by Israel.

Israel had immediately blamed Iran for the bombings, but the Indian government had been found noticeably reluctant to publicly name Iran, given their long and historic ties, and Iran being one of its biggest suppliers of crude oil. But a “strong message was sent privately”, according to people involved in these deliberations.

Delhi Police shortly arrested a man, who, it alleged, according to news reports from then, had worked with a five-man module of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which was headed by Soleimani even at the time, to carry out the attacks as reprisal for the killing of Iranian scientists. Police had named the bomber, who had allegedly also masterminded the attacks in Thailand and Georgia, and the four other members of the group saying they were all from Tehran.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/in-building-case-against-soleimani-trump-cites-new-delhi-london-attacks/story-EQxbRanjuSV7oA6fRyETbP.html

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei vows ‘severe revenge’ for Qasem Soleimani’s killing

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on the orders of President Donald Trump.

world Updated: Jan 03, 2020 13:19 IST

HT Correspondent

HT Correspondent

Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech during a gathering in Tehran, on January 1, 2020.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech during a gathering in Tehran, on January 1, 2020. (Reuters Photo)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei vowed “severe revenge” for the killing of Qasem Soleimani, calling him a martyr.

“We congratulate Imam Mahdi (‘a.j.) & Soleimani’s pure soul& condole the Iranian nation on this great martyrdom. He was an eminent example of a person trained in Islam. He spent all his life in struggling for God. Martyrdom was the reward for his tireless efforts over the years,” Khamenei said on Twitter.

“His efforts & path won’t be stopped by his martyrdom, by God’s Power, rather a #SevereRevenge awaits the criminals who have stained their hands with his & the other martyrs’ blood last night. Martyr Soleimani is an Intl figure of Resistance & all such people will seek revenge,” he said in his second tweet.

Calling Soleimani’s loss “bitter”, Khamenei further said that their Jihad of Resistance will continue with more motivation. “The continuing fight & ultimate victory will be more bitter for the murderers & criminals,” he said on Twitter.

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on the orders of President Donald Trump, who appears to have acted with an eye on both an expected move in the US Senate to impeach him and his re-election bid later this year.

Reports emanating from Tehran indicate that the Iranian government’s top leadership is already considering ways to retaliate to the killing of Soleimani, a general considered very close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Experts believe any retaliation could trigger a spiraling confrontation that could spread from Iraq and engulf the wider region.

The US Defence Department said it killed Soleimani because he “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region”. It also accused Soleimani of approving the attacks on the US Embassy in Baghdad earlier this week.

Following Soleimani’s death, Trump tweeted an image of the US flag without any further explanation.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/iran-s-supreme-leader-ayatollah-khamenei-vows-severe-revenge-for-qasem-soleimani-s-killing/story-sA12dS6FOXUrSaZgcjkMOI.html

>>7712193

Notice I am not begging to have any of these as notables. I am just digging.

So take your medications and your preparations and ram it up your snout.

>>7712209

>>7712242

>>7712255