Top advisor of Iran's supreme leader demands Iraq prosecute Soleimani's killers
Shafaq News/ A top advisor of Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday urged the Iraqi judiciary to prosecute the killers of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, who was killed in Iraq three years ago.
Speaking before an international conference held in the Iranian capital on the third anniversary of Soleimani's assassination, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's advisor for foreign affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati, said that Soleimani was on an official visit to Iraq per an invitation by the Iraqi government, dismissing the assassination as a "flagrant violation of the international laws".
"The crime opposes many international laws and customs; particularly the first and second articles of the United Nations charter and 1973's protection of diplomats convention," Velayati said, "we expect, after three years of this incident, that the Iraqi judiciary proceeds with issuing a fair ruling against those who ordered Soleimani's assassination, given that Iraq is the country where the crime took place."
Soleimani, Iran's most powerful military commander, was killed by a US air strike near the airport on January 3, 2020. The 62-year-old spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East as head of Iran's elite Quds Force.
He was killed at the Baghdad airport, along with al-Muhandis, the PMF's deputy commander back then, in a strike ordered by former US President Donald Trump.
Iran and groups allied with it in Iraq and other countries have been holding events to honor Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the overseas arm of the elite Revolutionary Guards.
Iranian judicial officials have communicated with authorities in nine countries after identifying 127 suspects in the case, including 74 U.S. nationals.
Confirming the Iranian general's death at the time, the US Department of Defense said, "Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region." The IRGC is a US-designated terrorist organization.
The attack came hours after then-US defense secretary Mark Esper said Washington was ready to step up activities to push Iran-backed forces out of Iraq, including preemptive strikes.
The assassination marked a major escalation in a simmering conflict between the US and Iran. Several days after the general’s death, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq. The Pentagon said dozens of troops suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result.
