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Iran Pressures Iraq to Prosecute Those Responsible for Soleimani’s Killing before Int’l Courts

Remains of the car in which Soleimani was killed in the US raid (AP)
Remains of the car in which Soleimani was killed in the US raid (AP)
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Iran Pressures Iraq to Prosecute Those Responsible for Soleimani’s Killing before Int’l Courts

Remains of the car in which Soleimani was killed in the US raid (AP)
Remains of the car in which Soleimani was killed in the US raid (AP)

A day after the Popular Mobilization Committee and a number of pro-Iran armed factions organized an event to commemorate the third anniversary of the assassination of the IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, Tehran renewed its calls on the Iraqi government to reveal the “killers”.

Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's top adviser on international affairs, demanded on Wednesday the Iraqi judiciary to prosecute the plotters of Soleimani’s assassination before international institutions.

The Iranian general was killed in a US strike near Baghdad Airport on Jan. 3, 2020.

“The terrorist operation carried out by the United States to assassinate Soleimani, who was invited by the Iraqi government to travel to Iraq, is a flagrant violation of international laws and is considered a public crime according to the Charter of the International Criminal Court, and the perpetrators can be prosecuted in that court,” Velayati said during the first international conference on the assassination of Soleimani, which was held in Tehran.

He added that the assassination “contradicts many international laws and norms, including Articles 1 and 2 of the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents of 1973.”

In conjunction with Velayati’s call, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid met with the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad, Muhammad Kazem Al-Sadeq, on Thursday.

According to a presidential statement, Al-Sadeq described the relations between his country and Iraq as “historic,” but the meeting did not point to any reference to the killing of Soleimani and whether Baghdad had taken action in this regard.

Tehran did not exert pressure during the tenure of former Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, contenting itself at the time with providing evidence of the Americans carrying out the assassination with accusations of a number of undisclosed elements. Based on statements by Iranian officials, Tehran was satisfied with the measures taken by the former Iraqi government.

But the mounting pressure on the current Iraqi government raises questions among political observers, who see that Iran is increasing its demands at a time when the Coordination Framework forces are divided over the relations with Washington.

Iraqi political sources said on Tuesday that the third anniversary of the assassination of Soleimani has sparked sharp divisions between the parties of the Coordination Framework, following reports that the government of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani agreed to a US request to prevent a “million-strong memorial march” for Soleimani in the country.

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Countries at UN Climate Summit Under Pressure with No Finance Deal Entering Final Day

People pose for a photo during the COP29 UN Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
People pose for a photo during the COP29 UN Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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Countries at UN Climate Summit Under Pressure with No Finance Deal Entering Final Day

People pose for a photo during the COP29 UN Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
People pose for a photo during the COP29 UN Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Countries at the United Nations climate summit amped up the pressure on themselves Friday by entering the last scheduled day of talks with no visible progress on their chief goals.
From the start, COP29 has been about climate finance — money that wealthy nations are obligated to pay to developing countries to cover damages resulting from extreme weather and to help those nations adapt to a warming planet. Experts put the figure at $1 trillion or more, but draft texts that emerged Thursday after nearly two weeks of talks angered the developing world by essentially leaving blank the financial commitment.
The talks often run into overtime as wealthier nations are pressed to pay for impacts caused largely by their emissions from centuries of burning fossil fuels. The late finish also adds pressure on Azerbaijan, the oil-rich nation presiding over this year's COP, or Conference of Parties.
In a statement late Thursday, the presidency struck an optimistic tone, saying the outlines of a financial package “are starting to take shape” and promised new draft texts on Friday, The Associated Press said.
“COP29 urges all parties to engage urgently and constructively in order to reach the ambitious outcome that we all need,” the statement said.
Frustrated delegates wait to see a new draft deal As negotiators, observers and civil society organization representatives waited for a new draft text to be released on Friday, many said they were frustrated and disappointed with the talks so far.
“No deal is better than a bad deal,” said Harjeet Singh of the climate advocacy group, Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty.
Singh said the key bottleneck is rich countries’ reluctance to say how much they are willing to pay for countries to transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy, adapt to the drought, storms and extreme heat and pay for losses and damages caused by climate change. Independent experts put the figure needed at $1 trillion per year.
“Things are absolutely stuck," he said. “It’s negotiation in bad faith by developed countries.”
Bryton Codd, part of Belize's negotiating team, said there is a lot of frustration felt by participants at the climate talks.
“I’m just waiting to see if that (climate finance goal) will actually be presented,” he said.
“Year after year our people come here and we dance this dance and play this game. No one comes here out of excitement, we come because we have no choice. Because we cannot let this process fail," said Tongan climate activist Joseph Sikulu with the environmental group 350.org. “Nothing less than $1 trillion in grants per year will be enough to see those most impacted by climate change on a just transition towards a safe, equitable future.”
‘Slap in the face’ for text to have no financial figure On Thursday, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev convened a Qurultay — a traditional Azerbaijani meeting — where negotiators spoke to hear all sides. He promised to find “a way forward regarding future iterations” of the deal.
Panama's Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez said the “lack of commitment transparency feels like a slap in the face to the most vulnerable."
"It is just utter disrespect to those countries that are bearing the brunt of this crisis,” he said. “Developed countries must stop playing games with our life and put a serious quantified financial proposal on the table.”
Other areas that are being negotiated include commitments to slash planet-warming fossil fuels and how to adapt to climate change. But they’ve seen little movement.
European nations and the United States criticized the package of proposals for not being strong enough in reiterating last year’s call for a transition away from fossil fuels.
US climate envoy John Podesta said he was surprised that “there is nothing that carries forward the ... outcomes that we agreed on last year in Dubai.” The United States, the world’s biggest historic emitter of greenhouse gasses, has played little role in the talks as it braces for another presidency under Donald Trump.
Days earlier, the 20 largest economies met in Brazil and didn't mention the call for transitioning away from fossil fuels. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who was at that meeting, said official language is one thing, but reality is another.
“There will be no way” the world can limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius "if there is not a phase out of fossil fuels,” Guterres said at a Thursday news conference.