At the funeral of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in southeast Iran where a huge crowd demanded revenge for cries of « Death to America », a stampede killed more than 50 people on Tuesday.
The stampede left « more than 50 dead, » said Abbas Amian, head of the Kerman City Forensic Institute, quoted by Iranian media.
The semi-official news agency Isna, quoting Kerman’s rescue chief Mohammad Sabéri, said 212 people were also injured, « a small number » of whom are in « serious condition ».
In the early evening, television began broadcasting live from the city’s martyrs’ cemetery where Soleimani is to be buried.
But the broadcast stopped and local media hinted that the burial might not take place until morning, without specifying the causes of the possible delay.
Earlier, the center of Kerman, the general’s hometown, had been invaded by a human tide similar to that which swept Sunday and Monday in Tehran and in the other cities where the coffins of Soleimani and his comrades-in-arms killed with him have transited for a popular tribute.
Head of the Quds Force, an elite unit in charge of the external operations of the Revolutionary Guards (the Iranian ideological army), Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s strategy in the Middle East.
The process of « expelling the United States from the region has begun, » said Major General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, to Kerman.
« We will take revenge […] If they (strike again), we will set fire to what they worship, » he said in an enigmatic tone. « They themselves know which places I am talking about ».
The Iranian parliament urgently adopted a law Tuesday classifying all of the United States armed forces as « terrorists » after the assassination of Soleimani.
« The martyr Qassem Soleimani is more powerful and alive now that he is dead, » and « more dangerous for the enemy, » assured the head of the Guardians before the coffins of the general and his right arm, Brigadier-General Hossein Pourjafari , displayed among wreaths of flowers on Kadi’s Azadi square.
Posthumously elevated to the rank of general of the corps, unusual for years in Iran, Soleimani is widely regarded in his country as a hero for the fight he waged against the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and in Syria.
Adding a little more to the confusion, Monday evening, the US command in Baghdad informed the Iraqis of the withdrawal of its troops … before Washington mentioned a letter sent in error!
For the United States, the drone fire that pulverized the cars of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mehdi al-Mouhandis, boss of pro-Iran paramilitaries in Iraq, on January 3 is a marked point for « peace and stability » in the Middle-East.
But, for Western diplomats in Iraq and American officers on the ground, it is a whole new page, of fury and chaos, which opens.
« The strike was a surprise to all of us, » a western diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
« It’s now very complicated to talk to the Americans. We talk a lot between members of the European Union, but the Americans are caught up in their own problems. »
The drone strike occurred during the end of the holiday in Baghdad, deserted by most ambassadors, leaving boiling chancelleries trying to unravel the sons of an assassination whose blast could exceed the Middle East alone.
Most diplomats today refuse to publicly discuss relations in the Washington-led anti-jihadist coalition.
For his part, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo does not hesitate to be accuser on Fox News, the voice of Donald Trump’s Republicans: « Europeans have not been as useful as I would have hoped In the wake of this targeted operation, he said.
« The British, the French, the Germans, all must understand that what we have done has also saved lives in Europe, » he argued.
And the gap is not only widening between diplomats. The soldiers of the anti-jihadist coalition led by the Americans also see it widening.
« It looks like we put our western allies » in shit « , » cowardly, bitter, a US military official in Iraq.
Since the assassination of Soleimani and Mouhandis, the Iraqi parliament has voted for the expulsion of anti-jihadist coalition forces – especially the 5,200 American soldiers in its midst – and the incessant rocket fire has forced NATO and the coalition to consecrate themselves only for their protection.
Worse still, the American strike put in danger all of the coalition forces, their states and their representatives, many based in the Green Zone where the American Embassy is located, recently attacked by thousands of pro-Iran and Repeated rocket fire, various sources provide.
« Whether intentional or not, the United States has created a threat over the heads of its allies on the ground – civilians and military alike, » Robert Ford, a researcher at the Middle East Institute, told AFP.
Himself stationed at the American embassy in the 2000s, Mr. Ford admits that he does not understand American strategy, with a Trump administration that does not work in coordination with either its troops on the ground or with its allies, and leaves them « Manage alone the consequences » of decisions made in Washington.
« The Trump administration is asking its European allies to sign him a blank check even though the United States has been unable to present a long-term plan for Iran, » said Ford.
For Jean-Pierre Filiu, professor at Sciences Po in Paris, as in 2003 when they invaded Iraq, the United States is in « total blindness as to the immediate consequences of an American coup in Baghdad ».
« The most disturbing thing in the American escalation is the absence of any properly Iraqi strategy, which can only destabilize the allies of the United States » within the coalition, the Middle East specialist assured the AFP.
US officials say Saudi Arabia faces « increased risk » of drone and missile attacks after Friday’s assassination in Baghdad of powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, architect of the Republic’s influence strategy Islamic in the Middle East.
This assassination, ordered by US President Donald Trump, raises fears of a regional blast, Tehran having threatened to avenge the death of Soleimani, chief of the Quds Force, elite unit in charge of the external operations of the Revolutionary Guards (the army ideology of Iran).
Riyadh tried to distance himself from Washington, a Saudi official said to the AFP that his country « was not consulted » before the American strike. His Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fayçal ben Farhane, described the situation as « very dangerous » on Monday.
Saudi newspapers have sought to blame Doha, claiming that the drone that shot down General Soleimani took off from an American base in Qatar, concealing the fact that the kingdom itself is hosting American troops.
A Saudi delegation led by Prince Khaled ben Salmane, deputy defense minister, arrived in Washington on Monday to plead for de-escalation after King Salmane called for urgent measures to « defuse » the tensions.
« It is pretty clear that the Saudis are not happy about this crisis, even if they should be happy about the murder of Soleimani, » Hussein Ibish of the Washington-based Arab Gulf Institute told AFP.
« They know they will be caught in a crossfire if war breaks out and they are doing everything to lower the temperature, » he added.
In recent months, Saudi Arabia and its sworn enemy, Iran, have initiated contacts under the aegis of Iraq to defuse tensions that have almost degenerated into confrontation.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi said on Sunday that he was to meet with General Soleimani on the day of his assassination, saying that the Iranian high-ranking official was carrying Tehran’s response to an earlier message from Saudi Arabia.
Analysts were worried that Saudi leaders, frustrated by former US President Barack Obama’s policy of being conciliatory towards Iran, would be dragged down by the Trump administration into yet another conflict in the Middle East.
But Riyadh appears to have changed its attitude after the attacks on its oil facilities, which have been blamed on Iran.
Washington’s lukewarm response to the September 14 strikes confirmed the kingdom’s fear that it could not count on its closest ally in the event of a regional conflict, experts said.
« The attack demonstrated the inability of this country to protect its essential infrastructure against asymmetric strikes, » Kristian Ulrichsen of the Baker Institute, affiliated with Rice University in the United States, told AFP.
« The Saudis and their allies in the United Arab Emirates, who are planning international events – the G20 summit in Riyadh and the 2020 World Expo in Dubai – are desperately trying to avoid escalation, » he said.
Riyadh is also trying to deal with other regional crises and has announced that it will maintain a channel of discussion with the pro-Iranian Houthi rebels in Yemen, which it has been fighting for almost five years.
Riyadh is also trying to deal with other regional crises and has announced that it will maintain a channel of discussion with the pro-Iranian Houthi rebels in Yemen, which it has been fighting for almost five years.
Riyadh is also in talks with Qatar on ways to ease the blockade it has imposed with its allies on that country since June 2017.
« The assassination of Soleimani […] threatens to end this progress, » Stephen Seche, vice president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told AFP.
According to him, the Houthi leaders closest to Tehran are tempted to « strike deep into Saudi Arabia, which would almost certainly defeat the ongoing peace initiative ».
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that he had been informed by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres that the United States had refused his visa to travel to the UN headquarters.
« What we do know is that the US Secretary of State (Mike Pompeo, Editor’s note), when calling the United Nations Secretary General, said » we don’t have time to issue a visa for Mohammad Javad Zarif and we will not issue him a visa, « said the Iranian minister.
« The Secretary General responded by saying that Iran has the right to participate in this session », an « open debate » to all members of the United Nations, organized Thursday at the Security Council on respect for the Charter of the The UN, he said, quoted by the Iranian news agency Isna.
The move is « a sign of the rout of the US government and the Trump regime, » he said, adding that he planned during his visit to New York to « discuss the crimes of America. »
Asked about the visa refusal at a press conference in Washington, Mike Pompeo kicked in without denying it.
« We don’t comment on visa issues, » « so I can’t add much to this question on Minister Zarif’s trip to the United States, » he said. « I will only say that: we will always comply with our obligations within the framework of the UN requirements », « we will do it in this particular case and more broadly every day, » he added.
Tensions have been highest between Tehran and Washington since the death of the powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, killed Friday in an American drone strike in Baghdad.
Head of the Quds Force, an elite unit in charge of the external operations of the Revolutionary Guards (the Iranian ideological army), Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s strategy in the Middle East.
As a host state of the United Nations, the United States is in principle under an obligation to promptly grant visas to requesting states to allow officials to attend meetings at the United Nations.
But already in September, they had delayed issuing a visa to an Iranian delegation accompanying Mr. Zarif and to Iranian President Hassan Rohani on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly.
And in July, Washington was criticized by the UN for granting Mr. Zarif a visa drastically limiting his trips to New York, where he was to attend a UN meeting on sustainable development.
In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rohani warned his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that American interests in the Middle East were now « in danger ».
Macron reminded him of « France’s commitment to Iraq’s sovereignty and security » which « must be reinforced by the presence on its soil of the anti-jihadist international coalition. »
For his part, the American diplomat Mike Pompeo argued on Tuesday that President Donald Trump « absolutely has the appropriate legal bases » to give the order to kill Soleimani, defending the legality of any future military action by the United States against Iran.
The United States created confusion on Monday by mistakenly transmitting to the Iraqi authorities a letter announcing preparations for the withdrawal of its soldiers from Iraq.
The letter referred to a Sunday vote in the Iraqi parliament urging the government to expel foreign troops from Iraq after the anger over the strike that killed Soleimani.
But US Defense Secretary Mark Esper assured the press, « No decision has been made to leave Iraq. »
However, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi who resigned confirmed on Tuesday that he had received a « signed » and « very clear » letter from the American command announcing a military withdrawal.
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