French Chief of Staff: Assassination of Soleimani 'Was Not a Good Idea'

Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces General Francois Lecointre (Ministry of the Armed Forces of France)
Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces General Francois Lecointre (Ministry of the Armed Forces of France)
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French Chief of Staff: Assassination of Soleimani 'Was Not a Good Idea'

Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces General Francois Lecointre (Ministry of the Armed Forces of France)
Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces General Francois Lecointre (Ministry of the Armed Forces of France)

Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces General Francois Lecointre said Iranian chief of al-Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani was a “real instigator,” but killing him in Iraq contributed in destabilizing the country.

He condemned the assassination of Soleimani and told the press that he “was not a saint” and a very destabilizing agent, but “it seems to me that going to kill Soleimani in Iraq was not a good idea."

Soleimani and deputy chairman of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis were assassinated in a US drone attack in Iraq earlier this month.

Lecointre indicated that this evidently weakens Iraq’s position, adding that the coalition and Western states want to secure Iraq and help it become a stable state in the region.

Asked whether it is possible for the PMF to execute any operation, Lecointre said that the current stage is risky. He said he doesn’t know if they will be able to continue with integrating PMF within the Iraqi army or if the party will become a more destabilizing tool in the hands of the Iranians, according to the French Press Agency (AFP).

France has deployed about a thousand soldiers operating within the framework of the international coalition against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Meanwhile, PMF denied reports that Abu Ali al-Basri was appointed as the deputy chairman succeeding Mohandis.

The Forces issued a brief statement refuting the reports that spoke about the appointment of Basri, asserting that no decision was taken in this regard.

A source close to the PMF explained that the position of deputy chairman occupied by Mohandis before his assassination was dropped upon the issuance of the new amendment to the authority’s law, noting that the position remains vacant.



Netanyahu Takes Witness Stand Again in His Trial for Corruption

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP)
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Netanyahu Takes Witness Stand Again in His Trial for Corruption

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified again on Wednesday in his ongoing trial for alleged corruption.

Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli leader to take the stand as a criminal defendant. He denies wrongdoing, saying the charges are a witch hunt orchestrated by a hostile media and a biased legal system out to topple his lengthy rule.

The corruption trial testimony is another low point for Israel’s longest-serving leader, who also faces an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Netanyahu is expected to travel to Hungary later Wednesday for a meeting with the country's prime minister, Viktor Orban, despite the international arrest warrant.