عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Iranian Delegation Pressures Baghdad to Recognize Soleimani as State Guest

A member of Iraq’s PMF stands guard in front of a banner depicting slain Iraqi deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (AFP)
A member of Iraq’s PMF stands guard in front of a banner depicting slain Iraqi deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (AFP)
TT
TT

Iranian Delegation Pressures Baghdad to Recognize Soleimani as State Guest

A member of Iraq’s PMF stands guard in front of a banner depicting slain Iraqi deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (AFP)
A member of Iraq’s PMF stands guard in front of a banner depicting slain Iraqi deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (AFP)

An Iranian delegation arrived in Baghdad last week to pressure the Iraqi government to recognize that General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in 2020, was an official guest of Iraq, Iraqi sources reported.

According to the sources, the delegation included diplomats and jurists from Tehran, all of whom were commissioned by Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

They exerted great pressure on the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani to issue an official document recognizing that Soleimani was an official guest of Iraq when he was assassinated at dawn on January 3, 2020, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Iraqi government asked its experts to study the request and figure out a way to issue the document without angering Washington.

Shiite parties backing al-Sudani’s government fear that Soleimani’s case will affect Baghdad’s relationship with the US, which they see as “necessary for the stability of the prime minister’s position.”

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, two days after Soleimani’s assassination, affirmed that he was slated to meet the slain Iranian general. He said Soleimani was meant to deliver an Iranian response to a letter from Saudi Arabia regarding truce negotiations in the region.

Sources close to the government offices claimed that al-Sudani wants to please the US and Iran at the same time, and this pushes him to search for a compromise regarding Soleimani’s file.

Moreover, sources pointed to Iraqi officials’ shock at “the Iranian rush regarding the recognition, especially its political timing.”

Pro-Iranian Shiite parties are not enthusiastic about Tehran’s demand. Even the leader of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq movement does not now want a confrontation with Washington, sources affirmed.

An Iraqi legal expert, who requested anonymity, said that the request indicates Iranian intent to draft a judicial file based on violating Iraq’s sovereignty in accordance with international law. Tehran wants to accuse Washington of assassinating a figure who was labeled an official guest.

This will lead Iraq, according to the expert, to be a binding party in bringing any lawsuit before the international courts against the US.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Cuba's President Warns US Against Attacking Island or Trying to Depose Him

Children walk down a street in Havana, Cuba, 09 April 2026 (issued 10 April 2026). EPA/ERNESTO MASTRASCUSA
Children walk down a street in Havana, Cuba, 09 April 2026 (issued 10 April 2026). EPA/ERNESTO MASTRASCUSA
TT
TT

Cuba's President Warns US Against Attacking Island or Trying to Depose Him

Children walk down a street in Havana, Cuba, 09 April 2026 (issued 10 April 2026). EPA/ERNESTO MASTRASCUSA
Children walk down a street in Havana, Cuba, 09 April 2026 (issued 10 April 2026). EPA/ERNESTO MASTRASCUSA

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the US has no valid reason to carry out a military attack against the island or to attempt to depose him.

Speaking in an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press program, the president said an invasion of Cuba would be costly and affect regional security. But should it happen, Díaz-Canel said, Cubans would defend themselves.

“If the time comes, I don’t think there would be any justification for the United States to launch a military aggression against Cuba, or for the US to undertake a surgical operation or the kidnapping of a president,” Díaz-Canel said, speaking through a translator.

He added: “If that happens, there will be fighting, and there will be a struggle, and we will defend ourselves, and if we need to die, we’ll die, because as our national anthem says, ‘Dying for the homeland is to live'.”

His comments come as tensions between Cuba and the US remain high despite both sides acknowledging talks, although no details have been shared.

Díaz-Canel has accused the US government of implementing a “hostile policy” against Cuba and said it has “no moral to demand anything from Cuba.” He noted that Cuba is interested in engaging in dialogue and discussing any topic without conditions, “not demanding changes from our political system as we are not demanding change from the American system, about which we have a number of doubts.”

Cuba blames a US energy blockade for its deepening woes, with a lack of petroleum affecting the island’s health system, public transportation and the production of goods and services.

Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it consumes, and it stopped receiving key oil shipments from Venezuela after the US military attacked the South American country in early January, seized President Nicolás Maduro and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Then, with cooperation from ruling party leaders, the Trump administration began implementing a phased plan to end Venezuela’s entrenched crisis.

The arrival of a Russian tanker carrying 730,000 barrels of crude oil in Cuba in March marked the island’s first oil shipment in three months. Russia has promised to send a second tanker.

Despite threatening tariffs in January on countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, the Trump administration allowed the tanker to proceed.

“Cuba’s finished,” President Donald Trump said at the time. “They have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership and whether or not they get a boat of oil, it’s not going to matter.”

According to The Associated Press, Díaz-Canel said his government takes Trump’s words as a warning.

“You hear that Cuba is next, that Cuba is going to be next, that there are, there’s a way out, that they’re going to take over Cuba,” he said. “So, from the position of responsibility within the leadership of the country, that is a warning. And we need to responsibly protect our people, protect our project and protect our country.”

World

Some 100 People killed in Mistaken Air Force Attack on Nigerian Market

FILE - Nigerian soldiers ride on an armored personnel carrier during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Maiduguri, in Borno state, Nigeria. Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)
FILE - Nigerian soldiers ride on an armored personnel carrier during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Maiduguri, in Borno state, Nigeria. Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)
TT
TT

Some 100 People killed in Mistaken Air Force Attack on Nigerian Market

FILE - Nigerian soldiers ride on an armored personnel carrier during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Maiduguri, in Borno state, Nigeria. Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)
FILE - Nigerian soldiers ride on an armored personnel carrier during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Maiduguri, in Borno state, Nigeria. Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

A Nigerian Air Force strike targeting rebels hit a local market in northeastern Nigeria, killing over 100 residents and injuring many others, a rights group and local media reported on Sunday. Officials confirmed a misfire but did not provide details.

Amnesty International said it confirmed from survivors that at least 100 people were killed in the airstrike on a village in Yobe state near the border with Borno state, the epicenter of the militant insurgency ravaging the region for over a decade.

Such misfires are common in Nigeria where the military often conducts air raids to battle armed groups who use vast forest enclaves. The air raids have ended up killing at least 500 civilians since 2017, according to an AP tally of reported deaths. Security analysts point to loopholes in intelligence gathering as well as insufficient coordination between ground troops, air assets, and stakeholders.

The Yobe State Government confirmed in a statement that a Nigerian military strike was targeting a stronghold of the Boko Haram militant group in the area and that “some people ... who went to the Jilli weekly market were affected.”

“We are in touch with people that are there, we spoke with the hospital. We spoke with the person in charge of casualties and we spoke with the victims,” Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria director, told The Associated Press.

The Nigerian Air Force did not immediately respond to an AP inquiry.

World

Putin Offers to Mediate Peace in Call with Pezeshkian, Tehran Says 3,375 Killed in US-Israel war

Rusya Devlet Başkanı Vladimir Putin, Moskova’daki Kurtarıcı İsa Katedrali’nde düzenlenen Ortodoks Paskalyası ayininde (AFP)
Rusya Devlet Başkanı Vladimir Putin, Moskova’daki Kurtarıcı İsa Katedrali’nde düzenlenen Ortodoks Paskalyası ayininde (AFP)
TT
TT

Putin Offers to Mediate Peace in Call with Pezeshkian, Tehran Says 3,375 Killed in US-Israel war

Rusya Devlet Başkanı Vladimir Putin, Moskova’daki Kurtarıcı İsa Katedrali’nde düzenlenen Ortodoks Paskalyası ayininde (AFP)
Rusya Devlet Başkanı Vladimir Putin, Moskova’daki Kurtarıcı İsa Katedrali’nde düzenlenen Ortodoks Paskalyası ayininde (AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday that he was ready to help mediate efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, the Kremlin said, AFP reported.

"Vladimir Putin emphasized his readiness to further facilitate the search for a political and diplomatic settlement to the conflict, and to mediate efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.

This came as head of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization, which sits under the country's judiciary, said on Sunday that 3,375 people in Iran had been killed in the war with the United States and Israel.

"During the recent imposed war, the bodies of 3,375 martyrs were identified by the Legal Medicine Organization using scientific and specialised methods," said Abbas Masjedi, state news agency IRNA reported.

He said the toll included 2,875 males and 496 females, without specifying if they were adults or children, according to the agency.