After the death of General Qassem Soleimani, a base housing American soldiers targeted by an attack

An American drone attack killed early Friday morning inside the Baghdad airport Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Qods force of the Revolutionary Guards, in charge of Iran’s external operations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the telephone with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday following the death of General Qassem Soleimani. He denounced an American attack, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law.

This assassination is part of a rising tension between the United States and Iran in Iraq, and more broadly in a context of growing litigation between the two enemies on the Iranian nuclear program since the unilateral American withdrawal in May 2018 of the international agreement concluded three years earlier.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the death of General Soleimani could « worsen the situation » in the Middle East.

China for its part urged the United States on Saturday « not to use force » in the aftermath of the deadly raid in Iraq. Beijing is one of the main importers of Iranian oil.

« The dangerous US military operation violates basic standards of international relations and will aggravate regional tensions and turbulence, » Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart in a telephone exchange, according to a press release published on the website of his ministry.

Two mortar shells fell in the Baghdad Green Zone, home to the U.S. Embassy attacked on Tuesday by thousands of pro-Iran fighters and supporters in Iraq, Iraqi security officials and the Green zone.

At the same time, less than a hundred kilometers further north, two Katyusha rockets landed on Balad air base, a huge Iraqi base that receives American soldiers and planes, security sources said on the spot. .

According to the Iraqi military command, there were no casualties in the two attacks.

Immediately after the shooting, American drones flew over the base for reconnaissance missions, the sources added.

The United States deployed additional soldiers this week to protect its diplomats and soldiers in Iraq where anti-American sentiment, fueled by pro-Iran, flared up with the assassination on Friday of a drone strike by the powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iranian man in Baghdad Abu Mehdi al-Mouhandis in Baghdad.

Calls for « revenge » are increasing in Baghdad as in Tehran, while the Americans have for several months already considered that the pro-Iran armed factions in Iraq are a more dangerous threat for them than the jihadists of the Islamic State group (IS) .

Since the end of October, 13 rocket attacks have targeted American interests in Iraq, even killing an American subcontractor on October 27 at a base in the country’s oil center.

None have been claimed, but Washington accuses the pro-Iran factions of Hachd al-Chaabi – a coalition of state-integrated paramilitaries – of being responsible.

President Emmanuel Macron met on the phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday, the two presidents first reviewed the situation in Iraq and the region. They agreed to stay in close contact for the next few days to avoid another dangerous escalation of tensions and to call on all parties to hold back. Emmanuel Macron recalled France’s commitment to Iraq’s sovereignty and security and to the stability of the region. He stressed the need for the guarantors of the 2015 agreement to remain closely coordinated in calling on Iran to quickly return to full compliance with its nuclear obligations and to refrain from any provocation. The President of the Republic stressed the priority which remains the fight against Islamist terrorism and reaffirmed his full commitment to the International Coalition against Daesh.

On Syria, the French President expressed his deep concern about the humanitarian situation in Idlib. He stressed the urgent need for all the member states of the Security Council to assume their responsibilities so that the United Nations can respond to the needs of the civilian population through the maintenance of cross-border aid. The two presidents have expressed their common desire to reach an agreement to that effect by January 10 at the United Nations Security Council.

On the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, Emanuel Macron once again welcomed the prisoner exchange that took place on December 29 between Russia and Ukraine in accordance with the commitments

taken at the Paris Summit in Normandy format on December 9. He stressed the need for all the measures adopted at the summit to be implemented quickly, in particular on the political and security conditions with a view to organizing local elections.

On Libya, stressed the risk of escalation linked to the reinforcement of foreign military interference, and the need to consolidate the international consensus at the Berlin Conference with a view to ending the crisis by returning to the political process under the aegis of the United Nations. In this context, Emmanuel Macron clearly condemned the agreements recently signed by GEN on maritime and security issues as well as all the decisions leading to an escalation. The President of the Republic confirmed to him the importance of an inter-Libyan dialogue and a political process involving regional actors but above all all Libyan political stakeholders.

President Emmanuel Macron met on Saturday morning with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, H.A. Mohamed bin Zayed. They shared their concern over the situation in Iraq and agreed to act together with all stakeholders to avoid a dangerous escalation of tensions in the region. They also discussed the latest developments in the Libyan crisis and expressed their determination to act: on the one hand within the framework of the United Nations, with the assistance of international partners, so that a cease-fire is established and that dialogue resumes to reunite the institutions and restore the unity of Libya; on the other hand, so that the inter-Libyan negotiations can resume as soon as possible.

Tehran has promised « harsh revenge » for the death of its most popular general whom everyone in the Middle East thought was absolutely untouchable. That will be carried out « in the right place and at the right time, » added Iran, adding to fears in Iraq that the country would be used as a battleground for its two allies, Tehran and Washington.

Baghdad has already said it feared « a devastating war » on its soil, which should be the site of a new show of force on Saturday from Tehran and its local allies, with an official and popular funeral of the two men killed on Thursday night See you Friday.

On Tuesday, the funeral procession of 25 pro-Iran fighters killed in US strikes near Syria degenerated into the ultra-secure Baghdad Green Zone. Under the blows of iron bars and other makeshift rams, the first compound of the American embassy in Baghdad had caved in under the pressure of several thousand angry pro-Iran.

On Saturday, it is in this district, where the Iraqi highest institutions sit, in addition to the American chancellery, that the Iraqi state will hold a national funeral for Soleimani and Mouhandis, before the bodies of the ten dead from the American raid on L airport is not presented to the crowd in Baghdad and then taken to the two Shiite holy cities of southern Iraq, Kerbala and Najaf, for final prayers before the burial of Mouhandis and the departure of the body of Soleimani towards the ‘Iran.

Far from Baghdad, under high security as the funeral nears the start of the funeral, the escalation between Tehran and Washington continues, each believing itself entitled to « defend itself ».

Trump said he ordered the elimination of Soleimani to « stop » a war and not to start one, saying that an attack on Americans was « imminent ».

« The dangerous US military operation violates basic standards of international relations and will exacerbate regional tensions and turbulence, » Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart in a telephone conversation.

The Iraqi parliament is scheduled to hold a special session on Sunday during which it could vote for the expulsion of the 5,200 US military personnel deployed to Iraq.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo harshly criticized the Hezbollah Brigades’ appeal.

« The thugs (of Hezbollah Brigades) tell the Iraqi security forces to abandon their duty to protect (the US Embassy in Baghdad) and other places where Americans work side by side with the brave Iraqis » , tweeted the head of American diplomacy.

« The fact that the Iranian regime is telling the Iraqi government what to do puts the lives of Iraqi patriots in danger, » said Pompeo. But « the Iraqi people want to free themselves from the Iranian yoke, » he wrote.

President Donald Trump warned Tehran on Saturday that the United States has identified 52 sites in Iran and will strike them « very quickly and very hard » if the Islamic Republic attacks American personnel or targets.

Some of these Iranian sites « are very high profile and very important to Iran and Iranian culture, » Trump said in a tweet. « The United States no longer wants threats! « , He warned.

Trump pointed out that the number 52 was the number of Americans who had been held hostage for more than a year from the end of 1979 at the United States Embassy in Tehran.

Iran has promised to avenge the death of powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed Friday by an American air strike in Baghdad.

Pro-Iran factions in Iraq on Saturday put pressure on bases hosting US soldiers after a day of monster parades to pay homage to General Soleimani.

In the evening began what could be the start of the escalation evoked since the strike that killed Friday General Generalimimani, head of the Al-Quds Force, in charge of Iran’s external operations, and Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis , number two of Hachd al-Chaabi, a coalition of pro-Iran fighters now integrated into the Iraqi security forces.

By chanting « no war against Iran » and « the United States outside the Middle East », protesters gathered Saturday in Washington, New York and across the United States after the American strike that killed the powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

About 200 people gathered outside the White House at the call of left-wing organizations. Behind the slogan « Withdrawal of the United States from Iraq now! » And no war and sanctions against Iran! They had called the demonstrations in some 70 cities.

Protesters marched through Times Square in New York, also holding up signs calling not to « go to war with Iran » and to withdraw US troops from Iraq.

It was a strike ordered by Donald Trump who killed powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and the Iranian man in Iraq, Abu Mehdi al-Mouhandis, on Friday in Baghdad.

The international community now fears a blast, after a verbal escalation and calls for revenge. Washington has announced the deployment of an additional 3,000 to 3,500 troops in the region.

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