As tensions with Iran escalated during the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency, thousands of Iraqis gathered in Baghdad’s central square on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the death of a major Iranian general in the U.S.
Singing anti-American slogans, some demanded revenge for the deaths of General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis who were killed by a U.S. drone attack on January 3, 2020.
The roads leading to Tahrir Square were closed and security was tightened as the crowd gathered in response to a powerful Iraqi militia’s call for a demonstration to protest the planned assassination near Baghdad airport and call for the withdrawal of American troops.
A simulated funeral procession attended by thousands of people was also held along the road to the airport on Saturday.
Posters by the general and al-Muhandis adorned both sides of the road leading to the airport and the bombing scene was transformed into an area similar to a sanctuary sealed by red ropes. A photo of Soleimani and al-Muhandis was placed in the middle, while the mourners lit candles.
Shard marks were still visible on the asphalt and on the walls of the area.
The protests came less than 24 hours after Iran said it planned to enrich uranium by up to 20 percent at its underground Fordo nuclear facility “as soon as possible”, taking its program a technical step away from adequate levels for weapons.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement that Tehran informed its inspectors about the decision, adding that “it has inspectors present in Iran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and they have regular access to Fordo.”
He added that Iran did not say when it plans to increase enrichment.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also accessed Twitter on Saturday to suggest that Iraqi intelligence indicated that “Israeli provocateurs” were plotting attacks against Americans.
That would put Trump “in a dead end with a fake casus belli,” he wrote.
“Watch out for the trap, @realDonaldTrump. Any fireworks will backfire, especially against his friends, ”added Zarif, in what appeared to be a veiled threat against Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and Israel’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on Zarif’s statements, but on Sunday, the country’s energy minister, Yuval Steinitz, called the statement “absurd”, Reuters reported. .
Instead, Steinitz told Kan public radio that it was Israel that needed to be on the alert for possible Iranian attacks.
Zarif’s comments came after an American official told NBC News on Friday that there is growing evidence that Iran may be planning an attack against American forces or interests in the Middle East.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that reading Iran’s intentions was “difficult and at times unpredictable”, but the indications were being taken seriously before Soleimani’s death anniversary.
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Last week, the US flew B-52 bombers based in the Middle East in a “deliberate appearance,” the US Central Command said in this month’s second show of strength.
The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was also ordered to return to its home port in the United States after a 10-month mission in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, the Pentagon said.
The United States also recently accused what it said was an Iran-backed militia of a December 20 rocket attack on Baghdad’s international zone, in which 21 rockets were fired. No one was hurt or killed.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
