Iraqi political sources said on Tuesday that the third anniversary of the assassination of Iranian General Qassem 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.
The Iranian general was killed in a US strike near Baghdad Airport on Jan. 3, 2020.
Limited activities were held on Tuesday to commemorate the event. An official celebration for the supporters of the Coordination Framework was not attended by senior officials, amid suspicions that these divisions will further deepen at the political level.
An informed political source told Asharq Al-Awsat that leaders in the Coordination Framework “feared a recurrence of scenes of angry crowds in the vicinity of the US embassy if the supporters were allowed to commemorate Soleimani’s killing without restrictions.”
Other leaders, according to the same source, “preferred to spare al-Sudani any embarrassment with the Americans, with whom he enjoys good relations…”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a leader in the Coordination Framework said that the Americans “informed [the Framework] during the negotiations to form the Sudanese government of their absolute rejection of any demonstrations or protest movement against Washington in Baghdad.
“It is most likely that the leaders [in the Framework] has agreed to that,” he underlined.
Activists close to the armed factions published a torrent of angry tweets, accusing the government of complicity to prevent “the loyalists from organizing the march.”
Issam al-Asadi, a politician close to Al-Sadr Movement, said that the Framework prevented any forms of tribute to Soleimani for fear of angering the Americans.
The source expected that the dispute over the commemoration of the Iranian general’s death would open the way for a new rift within the Coordination Framework.
