Live updates: Iran holds massive funeral for slain commander in Tehran amid calls for vengeance - The Washington Post

Wana News Agency Via Reuters Iranians attend a funeral procession for slain Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Tehran, Jan. 6, 2020.

Huge throngs of thousands of Iranians attended the funeral of slain Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in the capital, Tehran, on Monday in a display rivaling the ceremony three decades ago that marked the passing of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, wept as he prayed over the coffin of Soleimani, while he and other Iranian leaders vowed revenge for the U.S. drone strike that killed one of the country’s top military commanders.

Here are key points of what we know:

●The funeral in Tehran was a stark display of Soleimani’s importance to the regime.

●In the aftermath of the strike that killed Soleimani, Iran has discarded more internationally mandated curbs on its nuclear program.

●Iraq’s parliament is moving to expel U.S. troops after the strike.

●President Trump has threatened to hit Iraq with heavy sanctions if U.S. troops are forced to leave.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated with no relief in sight in the days after a U.S. drone strike killed Qasem Soleimani, a revered Iranian military figure, on Jan. 3.

5:15 AM: France, Germany and Britain call on Iran to refrain from violence and honor nuclear deal

BEIRUT — In a joint statement on Monday, France, Germany and Britain appealed to Iran to stick with its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal and refrain from responding violently to a U.S. attack.

On Sunday, Iran announced that, unless U.S. sanctions are lifted, the country would abandon the accord’s “final restrictions” on uranium enrichment. The decision followed a U.S. drone attack that killed Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force.

“We specifically call on Iran to refrain from further violent action or proliferation, and urge Iran to reverse all measures inconsistent with JCPOA,” the statement said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal that Tehran struck with world powers.

The joint statement also stressed the need for de-escalation in the region, where tensions have escalated to a new level over the weekend, and it condemned attacks on forces in Iraq under the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State.

“The current cycle of violence in Iraq must be stopped,” it said.

By: Sarah Dadouch

5:00 AM: Removing U.S. troops from Iraq may not be that hard

President Trump may have balked at the idea of U.S. troops being asked to leave Iraq, but ending America’s 17-year military presence there may be easier for the country’s government than he thinks.

Unlike most deployments stretching back to the aftermath the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, American troops in Iraq are not operating under a conventional status of forces agreement approved by the Iraqi parliament, according to experts.

The presence of 5,000 U.S. troops as part of a global coalition fighting the Islamic State is based on an arrangement that is less formal and, ultimately, on the consent of an executive branch that urged parliament on Sunday to tell foreign forces to leave.

“The current U.S. military presence is based of an exchange of letters at the executive level,” said Ramzy Mardini, an Iraq scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace who previously served in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

[Getting U.S. troops out of Iraq might not be that hard, say experts]

“If the prime minister rescinds the invitation, the U.S. military must leave, unless it wants to maintain what would be an illegal occupation in a hostile environment,” Mardini said.

Addressing Iraq’s wood-paneled parliament on Sunday, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi urged lawmakers to take “urgent measures” to force the withdrawal of foreign troops. Shortly after, the chamber passed a nonbinding resolution to that effect, and Abdul Mahdi’s office said that legal experts were drawing up a timetable for the pullout.

“At this moment in time [the] government has not yet decided to remove foreign troops but it is probable soon as things stand,” Sajad Jiyad, managing director of the Baghdad-based Bayan Center think tank, wrote on Twitter.

By: Louisa Loveluck

3:00 AM: Iran’s supreme leader weeps at funeral of commander killed by U.S. drone strike

ISTANBUL — Facing a sea of mourners in central Tehran on Monday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, openly wept as he prayed over the body of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the slain commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force.

The commander’s death has galvanized Iranians who have rallied in major cities, including Ahvaz, Mashhad and now Tehran.

Official President's website

Via Reuters

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Hassan Rouhani pray before the coffins of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Tehran, Jan. 6, 2020.

Hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets of the capital Monday to pay homage to Soleimani, a larger-than-life figure who oversaw the rapid expansion of Iranian influence across the Middle East. A U.S. drone targeted Soleimani as he left the Baghdad airport in a two-car convoy last week. U.S. officials cited what they said was his role directing rocket attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq.

Khamenei, who observers said rarely presides over the funerals of senior officials, was flanked Monday by President Hassan Rouhani; Soleimani’s successor, Brig. Gen. Ismail Qaani; and other key security and political figures.

Iran Press

In this image taken from video, Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, openly weeps as he leads a prayer over the coffin of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, in Tehran, Jan. 6, 2020.

The supreme leader has vowed revenge for his killing.

As the crowds wailed in Tehran on Monday, Khamenei recited the Namaz-e Meyet, or prayers of the dead, and choked back tears before beginning to sob.

“We have not witnessed any sins from him,” the supreme leader said.

Soleimani’s body will be carried next to the holy city of Qom, after which he will be buried in his hometown in Kerman.

By: Erin Cunningham

3 AM: China slams U.S. attack on Iranian commander

BEIJING — China on Monday heavily criticized the U.S. killing of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani as a violation of international norms and said it would work with Russia to “maintain international justice.”

In a flurry of calls with his Russian, Iranian and French counterparts over the weekend, Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi criticized what he called a “risk-taking” U.S. military strike and urged a halt in the American “abuse of force,” according to statements released by China’s Foreign Ministry.

Wang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed during their phone call to “strengthen joint strategic coordination to maintain international justice,” the ministry said without giving details.

China, which has increasingly close military ties with Moscow, has long sought a neutral position in the Middle East, with friendly relations with Iran, Israel and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

At a regular press briefing, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China would uphold an “objective and just position” in Middle East politics but lambasted the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and America’s “ignorance of international obligations and international law” as the “root cause of the tension.”

When asked by reporters, Geng declined to say whether China would increase its security presence in the region.

“We urge the U.S. not to abuse force and the relevant parties to exercise restraint to prevent a spiraling of tensions,” he said.

By: Gerry Shih

1:30 AM: Germany says Trump’s threats against Iraq ‘not helpful’

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Monday that President Trump’s threats against Iraq were “not very helpful at this point.”

Maas added in an interview with German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that the international community “has invested a lot, not only militarily but also in terms of support for stabilization.” Those efforts, said Maas, were now at risk of “being lost if the situation continues to develop this way.”

Maas remained vague when asked whether Germany would side with the United States on Iran.

“As Europe, we have to make an effort to ensure that we try everything to give diplomacy another chance,” he said.

By: Rick Noack

12:30 AM: Successor to slain Iranian commander vows to drive U.S. from region

The general succeeding the Iranian commander slain in a U.S. drone strike vowed to continue his predecessor’s work and expel the United States from the Middle East.

Brig. Gen. Ismail Qaani was appointed the head of the powerful Quds Force, the expeditionary wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard tasked with spreading the country’s influence abroad.

As Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani’s deputy, he worked closely with the slain commander on developing Iran’s proxy forces in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.

“We promise to continue down martyr Soleimani’s path as firmly as before with the help of God, and in return for his martyrdom we aim at getting rid of America from the region,” he said in an interview with state television.

Soleimani’s daughter also addressed the funeral ceremony for her father in Tehran, saying that Israel and the United States would soon face a dark day.

By: David Crawshaw

8:30 PM: Trump threatens sanctions against Iraq if it expels U.S. troops

WASHINGTON — President Trump said Sunday the United States would put “very big sanctions on Iraq” if the country forced out U.S. troops.

His remarks came shortly after Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi asked parliament to take urgent measures to pass laws to remove all foreign troops from Iraq. Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution doing just that, but it will have to be followed up by actual legislation for the troops to leave.

Kevin Wolf

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump exit Air Force One on Jan. 5, 2020, at Joint Base Andrews, Md.

The vote Sunday did not immediately imperil the U.S. presence in Iraq, but it highlights the head winds the Trump administration faces after the strike, which was seen in Iraq as a violation of sovereignty and as a dangerous escalation by governments across the Middle East.

[Trump threatens to strike Iranian cultural sites and impose ‘very big’ sanctions on Iraq as tensions rise]

“If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis. We will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever,” Trump said. “It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.”

Trump also warned that he expected Iraq to compensate the United States for an air base there.

“We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there,” Trump said. “It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it.”

By: Seung Min Kim

1:41 PM: Iran says it’s suspending its commitments to 2015 nuclear deal

ISTANBUL — Iran said Sunday that it is suspending its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal it had struck with world powers and will abandon the accord’s “final restrictions” on uranium enrichment and other activities unless U.S. sanctions are lifted.

“Iran’s nuclear program will now be based solely on its technical needs,” the statement said. The move includes breaching the deal’s caps on uranium production and enrichment capacity, as well as nuclear research and development.

[Iran announces it is suspending its commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal]

“If the sanctions are lifted . . . the Islamic Republic is ready to return to its obligations,” the statement said. It added that Iran will continue to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.

By: Erin Cunningham

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