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Doubts grow over US case for Suleimani assassination as Iran urges revenge
Source: The Observer
Doubts grow over US case for Suleimani assassination as Iran urges revenge
Rockets crash close to US embassy compound in Baghdad while huge crowds mourn Iranian general
Martin Chulov, Julian Borger and Ghaith Abdul-Ahad
Sun 5 Jan 2020 09.26 GMT
First published on Sat 4 Jan 2020 18.52 GMT
Huge crowds joined funeral processions for Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad and Tehran on Saturday as calls to avenge the Iranian general’s death mounted and the US case for ordering his assassination was increasingly called into question.
As the coffins of Suleimani and his close associate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were carried through the Iraqi capital, the ramifications of the killings were reverberating across a nervous region, where many believe the aftermath could spark a new era of bloodletting and instability. Two rockets crashed into Baghdad’s Green Zone on Saturday night, near the sprawling US embassy compound, which was attacked by Shia militia members in the days before Suleimani’s death.
Donald Trump’s decision to authorise the assassination also appeared to have driven a wedge between Washington and its allies, with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, telephoning Iraq’s acting prime minister to express support for the country’s sovereignty in an implicit rebuke of the strike, which was carried out without the knowledge of Iraqi leaders.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also called for calm amid concerns that Suleimani’s death may shift the foundations of Washington’s relationships in the region. All three states are US allies and consider themselves to be possible arenas for Iranian retaliation.
While the US president continued to revel in his decision, there were also fears in Europe and Britain that potential consequences for an already volatile global order had not been considered. The former MI6 chief Sir John Sawers described Suleimani’s assassination as an “act of war”.
-snip-
Rockets crash close to US embassy compound in Baghdad while huge crowds mourn Iranian general
Martin Chulov, Julian Borger and Ghaith Abdul-Ahad
Sun 5 Jan 2020 09.26 GMT
First published on Sat 4 Jan 2020 18.52 GMT
Huge crowds joined funeral processions for Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad and Tehran on Saturday as calls to avenge the Iranian general’s death mounted and the US case for ordering his assassination was increasingly called into question.
As the coffins of Suleimani and his close associate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were carried through the Iraqi capital, the ramifications of the killings were reverberating across a nervous region, where many believe the aftermath could spark a new era of bloodletting and instability. Two rockets crashed into Baghdad’s Green Zone on Saturday night, near the sprawling US embassy compound, which was attacked by Shia militia members in the days before Suleimani’s death.
Donald Trump’s decision to authorise the assassination also appeared to have driven a wedge between Washington and its allies, with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, telephoning Iraq’s acting prime minister to express support for the country’s sovereignty in an implicit rebuke of the strike, which was carried out without the knowledge of Iraqi leaders.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also called for calm amid concerns that Suleimani’s death may shift the foundations of Washington’s relationships in the region. All three states are US allies and consider themselves to be possible arenas for Iranian retaliation.
While the US president continued to revel in his decision, there were also fears in Europe and Britain that potential consequences for an already volatile global order had not been considered. The former MI6 chief Sir John Sawers described Suleimani’s assassination as an “act of war”.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/04/suleimani-assassination-fears-grow-bloody-reprisal-funeral-baghdad-tehran
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