Trump: Iran was planning to strike 4 US embassies before the killing of "Soleimani"

[MyLadiesDaddy]

5 hours ago, trident said:

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump

To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!

5:48 AM - 12 Jan 2020

 

 

[yota691]

Newspaper: Saudi crown prince recently agreed to Iraqi mediation on Iran

Political | 04:13 - 12/01/2020

 

 

 

 

Baghdad - Mawazine News,
The American New York Times confirmed today, Sunday, that the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to a mediation led by Iraq to reconcile with Tehran.
"The Saudi crown prince recently approved offers from the Iraqis, Pakistanis, Omanis and others to mediate with Iran," the newspaper said in a report followed by Mawazine News.
The report added, "The Saudi crown prince became very tense after the news of the assassination of the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, General Qassem Soleimani, in a US raid near Baghdad International Airport."
In a parallel line, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan revealed that the Saudi Crown Prince and the US President asked him to communicate with the Iranian President for calm in the Gulf. End / 29 BC

[DinarThug]

In central Tehran, Iranian protesters liken the Revolutionary Guards to ISIS

January 11, 2020

 

 

 

 

Angry Iranian demonstrators in the streets of the capital, Tehran, on Saturday night, chanted slogans comparing the Revolutionary Guards to the Islamic State, ISIS.

And Iran International published a video clip showing the incident, and the protesters chanted "Revolutionary Guards, dictator ... you are ISIS"

 

إيران إنترناشيونال-عربي

 

✔@IranIntl_Ar

 

 

هتافات جديدة يطلقها المحتجون الإيرانيون لأول مرة في مظاهراتهم،اليوم، في #طهران: 
"الحرس الثوري أيها الديكتاتور.. أنت داعشنا"#إيران

Iran International-Arabic ✔ @ IranIntl_Ar New shouts of Iranian protesters for the first time in their demonstrations, today, in # Tehran: “Revolutionary Guards, dictator .. you are ISIS” #Iran

 

video link

 

2:19 PM - Jan 11, 2020

 

 

Angry protesters tore apart an image of Iran's Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in Tehran, nearly a week after he was killed in an air strike near Baghdad airport.

Activists released the picture of Soleimani, which they said was hanging in a Tehran neighborhood, and it appears to be to torn .

The incident occurred in conjunction with the departure of hundreds of Iranians in protest demonstrations to condemn the downing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a Ukrainian passenger plane over the sky of Tehran last Wednesday.

 

محمد مجيد الأحوازي

 

✔@MohamadAhwaze

 

 

عاجل : تمزيق صور قاسم سليماني في مظاهرات طهران الأن . #IranProtests #ايران_تنتفض

Muhammad Majeed Al-Ahwaz ✔ @ MohamadAhwaze Urgent: Qasim Soleimani's photos are being torn at the Tehran demonstrations now. #IranProtests #Iran rises up

 

10:23 AM - Jan 11, 2020

 

 

The demonstrators chanted slogans condemning the Iranian regime and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards.

Video footage on Twitter showed hundreds of people in front of Amir Kabir University in Tehran chanting, "Leave, leave, Supreme Leader (Khamenei)."

 

إيران إنترناشيونال-عربي

 

✔@IranIntl_Ar

 

 

عاجل
يؤكد النشطاء الذين يرسلون مقاطع فيديو لـ"#إيران_إنترناشيونال"، استمرار المظاهرات قرب جامعة أمير كبير بطهران، وآخر هتافاتهم: "الموت للولي الفقيه"#إيران

Iran International-Arabic ✔ @ IranIntl_Ar Urgent Activists who send videos to "# Iran_International" confirm the continuation of the demonstrations near Amir Kabir University in Tehran, and their latest chants: "Death to the Guardian Faqih" # Iran

video link

 

10:21 AM - Jan 11, 2020

 

 

In a rare move, the semi-governmental Fars News Agency acknowledged the incident of tearing down Soleimani’s image and the emergence of anti-regime demonstrations.

link

[DinarThug]

After Iran's admission of the plane disaster, Zarif's tweet provokes the followers

In World News  , January 12, 2020 

 

Although the Iranian regime recognized the responsibility of its forces to shoot down the Ukrainian plane and killed all its passengers and crew, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tried to tweet the placement of responsibility in the United States of America, and wrote that this was a "human error at the time of the crisis caused by the American adventure that led to Disaster".

Followers of Jawad Zarif, who responded with a strong response, expressing their "indignation" at the attempt of the Iranian head of diplomacy to charge the killing of 176 innocent lives of a Boeing 737 in the United States of America whose forces did not fire a single day.

However, commenting on Zarif's tweet added, "By American adventure you mean the Iranian attack on American forces."

Activist Khaled al-Subaie responded to Zarif by asserting that the mullahs ’regime in Tehran was a“ group of pirates, ”as he put it.

Then he confronted him with the fact that the Iranian regime saw the international community and said, "This group never recognizes international law and order."

Another tweet, Jawad Zarif, mentioned the involvement of the Iranian regime in supporting international terrorism, noting Afghanistan, which has been torn by terrorism for decades.

In his response to Zarif's tweet, he said, "Afghanistan has suffered greatly from the Iranian regime. More than ten thousand Afghans have been killed by Iran-sponsored terrorism in the past five years in the western part of the country."

Then he added, "The Iranian regime is the biggest evil in the region."

Murshid, from his commentary in the Persian language, appears to be Iranian, responding to Zarif with a tweet saying, "During these two months, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have killed more than two thousand Iranians."

An Iranian activist called for exposing the crimes of the Iranian regime and wrote that all who live in the Islamic Republic of Iran know who is ruling, and who is covering up the crime.

"I prayed for a campaign to respond to them and punish them, they all supported the government's lies."

And on Saturday morning, the Iranian regime finally recognized its responsibility to shoot down the Ukrainian plane and killed it "by mistake for all its passengers, after it denied this for three days."

LINK

[yota691]

Al-Issawi to (Tigris): If America leaves Iraq, we are facing a major disaster

12-01-2020 09:28 PM - Number of readings: 1

Today, Sunday, the representative of the Iraqi Forces Coalition, Faisal al-Issawi  , warned of a major catastrophe if the American forces leave the country.

Al-Issawi said in his speech to the Tigris, that the United States is able to impose sanctions and its consequences will be more than (the siege), indicating that if Iraq wants to enter into a conflict with America, it must bear that.

 

Al-Issawi: If Iraq wants the American conflict, it must bear this
154 views • Premiered 93 minutes ago

 

Point of view Al-Issawi: If America emerges from Iraq, we are facing a major catastrophe

177 views • Premiered 97 minutes ago

[DinarThug]

Republished videos .. Pompeo: The Iranians are tired of the regime's lies and brutality

In World News  , January 12, 2020 

 

 

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo re-posted videos of Saturday's protests in Tehran against the ruling regime, saying that the Iranian people are tired of the regime's lies and brutality.

"The voice of the Iranian people is clear," Pompeo said in a tweet. They are tired of the lies of the regime, corruption, incompetence and brutality of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, under the government of thieves led by Khamenei. ” We stand with the Iranian people, who deserve a better future. ”

On Saturday, Iranians demonstrated in Tehran to denounce the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards after taking off from Tehran airport.

"Death to the guardian of the jurist," and video clips broadcast by Iranian activists showed protesters gathered in front of a university in Tehran chanting the slogan "Death to the guardian of the jurist" and "I will kill those who killed my brother", and demanding the Revolutionary Guard to leave Iran alone.

The demonstrations spread to other cities, including Isfahan, and the protesters chanted slogans against the regime, including "America is not our enemy ... our enemy here at home."

The protesters criticized the “years of massacres” they saw at the hands of the Iranian regime of the revolution in 1979.

Demonstrators also went out in the city of Hamadan and chanted slogans against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

LINK

##################

Trump addressing the Iranians: We follow your protests closely and your courage inspires us

In World News  , January 11, 2020 

 

"We are following your protests closely, and your courage inspires us," US President Donald Trump said, addressing the Iranian people, whose thousands of people went out in mass protests, on Saturday.

“To the brave and suffering people of Iran, who have suffered so long, I have stood with you since the beginning of my presidency, and my government will continue to stand with you,” the US president added in a tweet in Persian on Twitter. We are closely following the protests. Your courage is inspiring.

Trump again warned Iran against committing a "new massacre against peaceful demonstrators,"

He added in a later tweet that "the Iranian government should allow human rights groups to report the facts of the Iranian protests on the ground, there can be no further massacre of peaceful protesters, nor the closure of the Internet."

And there were demonstrations in the Iranian capital, Tehran, before it extended to other cities, including Isfahan, days after the Iranian army shot down a Ukrainian plane with a missile, minutes after taking off from Tehran airport on Wednesday.

The protesters in Isfahan chanted anti-regime slogans, including "America is not our enemy ... our enemy here at home."

The protesters criticized the “years of massacres” they saw at the hands of the Iranian regime of the revolution in 1979.

Demonstrators also went out in the city of Hamadan and chanted slogans against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Videos of Iranian activists showed protesters gathered in front of a university in Tehran, chanting the slogan "Death to the Guardian Faqih" and "I will kill those who killed my brother", and demanding that the Revolutionary Guard leave Iran alone.

LINK

[yota691]

Revolutionary Guards: We wanted to bomb the base of Balad and we changed our opinion for two reasons

Political | 06:59 - 12/01/2020

 

 

 

 

Baghdad - Mawazine News
, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Major General Hussein Salami, revealed today, Sunday, the reason for not targeting the American forces at Taji base.
Salami said in a speech to him during the parliament session that "all of our targets from the missile strike were achieved," noting that "America could not repel our missiles."
He added, "We wanted to target the Al-Taji base, but because of its proximity to Baghdad and the presence of Iraqi forces in it, we changed the location of targeting." ”Ended 29h

 

 

[yota691]

The Iraqi government: We agreed with all parties to respect the sovereignty of our country

 

33 minutes ago

Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Prime Minister, the Iraqi in charge

 

Baghdad: The Iraqi government said on Sunday that it agreed with all parties to respect the sovereignty of Iraq against the backdrop of the recent US-Iranian military confrontation on the country.
Government spokesman Saad Al-Hadithi said in statements carried by the official news agency, that Baghdad had informed both Washington and Tehran of its refusal to violate the country's sovereignty, and had also sent letters to the UN Security Council demanding that it fulfill its responsibilities towards violations.
Al-Hadithi added that the Iraqi government agreed with all parties to respect the country's sovereignty and not to take any future steps that would transgress the sovereignty.

He stressed that "there is an emphasis by the government that Iraq does not accept these violations, and will resort to legal, diplomatic and political means to preserve its right."
And Al-Hadithi added that Baghdad had informed the various international parties that it wanted to establish friendship relations based on mutual respect and respect for the country's sovereignty, and try to maintain cooperation in the field of combating "terrorism", and support Iraq’s efforts to achieve stability in the country.
Washington assassinated the commander of the "Quds Force" of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, and a leader in the "Popular Mobilization" of Iraq, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, in a US air strike near Baghdad airport on January 3.
Iran responded on Wednesday by launching ballistic missiles at two military bases hosting American soldiers in northern and western Iraq.

The American-Iranian military confrontation sparked widespread public and governmental anger in Iraq, amid fears that the country would turn into an open arena of conflict between the United States and Iran, before the tension subsided in the past few days.
The Iraqi government considered the military confrontation a "violation" of its sovereignty, and asked its American counterpart to send a delegation to discuss the mechanism of withdrawing its forces from the country, but Washington rejected Baghdad's request.
(Anatolia)

 

[yota691]

Report: Washington has warned Baghdad against losing "oil revenues" if it insists on removing US forces

2020-01-12

Yassin Iraq: Baghdad,
a report published by the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Iraqi government received a warning from the US State Department that Iraq will lose a vital bank account in America if it insists on removing the American forces.
The report, which was seen by Yassin Iraq, quoted Iraqi officials as saying that the US State Department informed the authorities in Baghdad that it might lose access to an account in the New York Federal Reserve, which includes oil sales revenues, which threatens to deal a painful blow to the faltering Iraqi economy.
According to the report, one of the Iraqi officials indicated that "the warning about the aforementioned account came through a phone call made by the US State Department, last Wednesday, with the head of the Iraqi caretaker government, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, as the two sides discussed other files of the military, financial and political partnership between Washington and Baghdad." .
Iraq, like other countries, maintains government accounts in the New York Federal Reserve, as an important part of the country's financial affairs administration, including oil sales revenue. The loss of access to the account could limit Iraq’s use of these revenues, which raises a monetary crisis in the financial system and limits important resources for the economy.

According to the newspaper, “The potential economic and financial implications of removing American forces from the country are weighing on Iraqi officials who are trying to address the issue without provoking a violent response.”
According to the newspaper, “In recent days, Iraqi officials have highlighted the need for friendly relations with Washington, even With the forces loyal to Iran exerting pressure to expel American forces from Iraq.
And US President Donald Trump has threatened Iraq with economic sanctions he had not seen before, in case the Iraqi government takes out the American forces, stressing that Iraq must pay the money that the United States spent in Iraq to build military bases and airports in case he insists on removing the forces, Noting that Iraq has billions of dollars in US banks can be seized.

[DinarThug]

Iranians Take to the Streets to Protest Against Their Government, Honor US Flag

 

Posted January 12, 2020

 

Iranian citizens took to the streets on Sunday night to protest their corrupt government after an Iranian missile shot down a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 people.

Now viral videos show demonstrators yelling anti-Iranian government slogans as they march through subway stations and sidewalks.

 

Check out what Breitbart reported:

 

Videos posted online showed protesters shouting anti-government slogans and moving through subway stations and sidewalks, many near Azadi, or Freedom, Square after an earlier call for people to demonstrate there. Other videos suggested similar protests were taking place in other Iranian cities.

Riot police in black uniforms and helmets earlier massed in Vali-e Asr Square, at Tehran University and other landmarks. Revolutionary Guard members patrolled the city on motorbikes, and plainclothes security men were also out in force. People looked down as they walked briskly past police, hoping not to draw attention to themselves.

The plane crash early Wednesday killed everyone on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. After initially pointing to a technical failure and insisting the armed forces were not to blame, authorities on Saturday admitted to accidentally shooting it down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by Western leaders.

 

Some of the protesters honored the American and Israeli flags as they refused to step on them during their demonstrations on Sunday.

Check out some of the moments below:

TWITTER HESHMATALAVI

Heshmat Alavi@HeshmatAlavi

 · 22h

 

To certain DC politicians & MSM who glorify Soleimani & describe him as a "popular general," a "divine" figure & a "national war hero," watch how people in #Iran tear apart a poster of his image along with the regime's dictator @khamenei_ir.

MIC DROP!

VIDEO LINK

The videos were taken in Tehran at Beheshti University. Some people stepped on the two flags and were immediately booed as people chanted, "Shame on you!"

TWITTER HESHMATALAVI

Heshmat Alavi@HeshmatAlavi

 · 7h

 

Replying to @HeshmatAlavi @khamenei_ir

Attention certain DC politicians, MSM & "Iran experts"
You argued Iranians will "rally around the flag" following the killing of Qassem Soleimani.
So, why do most Iranians refuse to disrespect the U.S. & Israeli flags?
MIC DROP! 

TWITTER LINK

 

Heshmat Alavi@HeshmatAlavi

 

Jan 12 - Tehran, #Iran
Beheshti University

Another view Iranians refusing to disrespect the U.S. & Israeli flags.
Those who do walk on the flags (most likely of the regime's IRGC Basij members) are booed & people begin chanting: "Shame on you!"

VIDEO LINK

[DinarThug]

Iraqi PM quietly working to keep US troops in country

 

January 11, 2020

 

Iraq’s caretaker prime minister privately does not want US troops to withdraw, several sources familiar with the situation told Al-Monitor, though Adel Abdul Mahdi publicly backed a recent parliamentary vote that urged the Donald Trump administration to exit the war-torn country.

Despite calling on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to send an American delegation to Iraq to negotiate the withdrawal of US troops in a readout of a Friday call, Abdul Mahdi is trying to find a way to keep an American presence in the country while attempting to placate Iran-backed militia leaders who want to force 5,200 US troops out, a source familiar with the situation on the ground said.

Abdul Mahdi is attempting to “save face,” a former senior administration official told Al-Monitor. “He doesn’t want us to leave.” By demanding a US exit, the former official said, Abdul Mahdi is using “[the] only leverage he has.”

In a heated response to Abdul Mahdi’s statement on Friday, the State Department rejected the caretaker leader’s request for a plan for US troops to exit. "Any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership — not to discuss troop withdrawal," spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

Abdul Mahdi — who resigned in November amid ongoing anti-government street protests — is more likely to ask for US troops to stay in a training role without rules of engagement for combat, the source familiar with the situation on the ground said.

Despite the parliamentary resolution urging the prime minister to rescind Iraq's 2014 invitation to US forces, the government has not officially requested US withdrawal.

But the Iraqi leader has to push back on the American presence to save face with Iran-backed militias, the source said, hiding the US footprint while still getting the support needed for the Islamic State (IS) fight. Abdul Mahdi has balanced his relations with Washington and Tehran, and was informed in advance by each side prior to the strikes on Kataib Hezbollah bases in late December and on bases housing US forces on Jan. 8. 

More than 500 people have died since demonstrations began in October, and US and Iraqi sources have raised questions about whether Abdul Mahdi has the authority to expel US troops, and if Iraq can fight IS on its own.  

“There is a lot of pressure on him,” said Rehan Hanna Ayoub, a deputy in the Iraqi parliament council and a member of the foreign relations committee. “All data and reports indicate that Iraq is not ready economically, financially or militarily to confront IS and criminal gangs.”

Ayoub, who represents a district in northern Iraq, told Al-Monitor that the situation is not likely to change after an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Tuesday targeted Iraqi military bases in al-Asad and Erbil that house US and coalition troops.

“He is trying to calm down [the] militias for now,” said Sarkawt Shams, another member of Iraq’s parliament. “He knows bad things will happen if US leaves this way,” he added, referring to the possible forceful expulsion of American troops.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper did not speak to Abdul Mahdi after the Iranian attacks. “We were trying to arrange a quick call, and then I think I was on the line with members of Congress,” Esper said on Wednesday. Al-Monitor subsequently learned that Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood, the agency’s third-ranking official, made the call instead.

Earlier this week, Esper insisted that the vote to urge the expulsion of US forces had showed the support of Iraqis, as most Kurds and Sunnis did not show up. The vote had also been marred by Iran-backed militias forcing Shiite blocs to vote “at the threat of their own lives,” the Pentagon chief said.

As Iraqi protesters took to the streets again on Friday, Abdul Mahdi appeared caught between the need to placate Iranian demands and a desire to keep US forces in the country, lawmakers and sources with knowledge of the situation said.

“My sense is that on a popular and political level is that almost no one wants the troops to leave and they’re going to do this public dance,” said Christine van den Toorn, president of the Iraq Fund for Higher Education. “There’s going to be a reorganization and a back and forth and some kind of shuffling that pleases Iran.”

Found in:IRAN-US TENSIONS

 

Jack Detsch is Al-Monitor’s Pentagon correspondent. Based in Washington, Detsch examines US-Middle East relations through the lens of the Defense Department. Detsch previously covered cybersecurity for Passcode, the Christian Science Monitor’s project on security and privacy in the Digital Age. Detsch also served as editorial assistant at The Diplomat Magazine and worked for NPR-affiliated stations in San Francisco. On Twitter: @JackDetsch_ALM, Email: jdetsch@al-monitor.com.

Read more: LINK

[yota691]

#AlJazeeraEnglish #QatarIran #USIran
Qatar calls for peaceful solution between US and Iran
32,023 views•Jan 12, 2020
 

Al Jazeera English

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is the first national leader to visit the Iranian capital since the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani by the United States.
The leader met President Hassan Rouhani and other top Iranian leaders. 
Qatar has called for a peaceful solution to regional tensions.
Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari reports from Tehran. 

[DinarThug]

The New York Times: Abdul-Mahdi did not sign the decision to remove foreign forces from Iraq

 

2020/01/11 10:17:43

Translation / Hamed Ahmed

 

On Friday, the US State Department ignored a request from the Iraqi government to start discussing ways to withdraw troops from the country, stressing that any US officials go to Baghdad during a situation of heightened tensions, because they will not discuss the issue of "withdrawing forces."

Rather, the discussions will be on the topic of "the appropriate status of forces in the Middle East."
This statement from Washington was a quick response to the Prime Minister of Iraq, Adel Abdul Mahdi, and it will certainly intensify the dispute between the two countries.

The prime minister had said earlier on Friday that he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to send a delegation from the United States to discuss steps to withdraw nearly 5,200 American soldiers from his country, following a deadly US military raid ordered by President Trump considered by many Iraqis As a violation of the sovereignty of their country.

"We are pleased to continue our dialogues with the Iraqis about what is the appropriate structure," Pompeo told a news conference after the State Department issued a statement, stressing that the US mission in Iraq "was to train Iraqi forces to fight ISIS, and we will continue with that mission."

Pompeo added, "But as time changes and we reach a stage, we can, through our appropriate structure, as President Trump and I believe, continue to support that mission with fewer resources, we will do so."

Commenting on the same topic Friday, Trump's response was a little different from his secretary of state's statement, and he tends more to what he was promoting during his 2016 election campaign when he pledged to withdraw US troops from war sites in countries overseas.

In an interview with Fox News, the President was asked whether this was an opportunity to withdraw American forces from Iraq and return them to the homeland. Trump said, "I agree, I don't mind."

But Trump also said that while Iraqi officials publicly call for the withdrawal of US forces, they "do not say this in private meetings."

Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has not yet signed the parliament’s decision to expel the American forces, who voted after the drone plane attack killed 10 people who were in a convoy in two cars near Baghdad International Airport, including the Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and the deputy commander of the popular crowd, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, but he still criticized the presence of American forces in Iraq since the United States took a series of recent military measures inside the country.

During a phone call held Thursday evening, which the office of Abdul Mahdi mentioned as an initiative of Pompeo, the Iraqi Prime Minister said that he objected to two breaches of his country's sovereignty, noting the American drone attack that killed Soleimani and the Iranian response with missiles to bases in Iraq that include American forces.

"Iraq is keen to maintain the best relations with its neighbors and friends from the international community. Iraq's priority is to fight terrorism," said a statement by the Prime Minister's Office.

US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagos issued a statement on Friday, in which it rejected the request of Adel Abd al-Mahdi.

She said in her statement, "Our military presence in Iraq is to continue fighting ISIS, and as the Foreign Minister said, we have pledged to protect the Americans, Iraqis and our partners in the international coalition. At the present time, any delegation sent to Iraq will be dedicated to discuss finding the best way to implement our commitment in accordance with the strategic partnership." ... and not to discuss the withdrawal of forces, but rather the correct and appropriate position for our forces in the Middle East. "

She said a delegation from NATO was in the US State Department on Friday to discuss the alliance's role in Iraq "in line with President Trump's desire to share the alliance with a collective responsibility with us in defense efforts."

"During his call to Abdul-Mahdi, Pompeo reiterated the United States' denunciation of the Iranian missile attack on two sites in Iraq on Wednesday, which included Iraqi and American forces and coalition countries working together to defeat ISIS," Ortagos said.

She added that Pompeo assured Abdel Mahdi that "the United States will take whatever measures it can to protect the Iraqi and American people and defend our common interests."

About: The New York Times

LINK

[DinarThug]

Tehran rises against the regime: tearing pictures of Qasim Soleimani

 

- 8 Hours Ago

 

 

TEHRAN - The Iranian capital witnessed a wave of protests against the authority of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei after his regime acknowledged responsibility for shooting down the Ukrainian plane, days after it failed to hide the truth after the United States presented evidence that condemned Iran responsible for the tragic incident.

The Iranian Fars News Agency, which is close to the conservatives, said protesters chanted against the authorities and tore down pictures of Qasim Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, who was killed on January 3 with an American strike in Baghdad.

On Saturday, the police dispersed students who were chanting "extremist" slogans during their gathering in Tehran to honor victims of the Ukrainian plane, which was accidentally hit by an Iranian missile, it added.

The Agence France-Presse said that hundreds of students gathered in the evening at Amir Kabir University in central Tehran to honor the 176 victims who were killed in the plane crash. And the honoring gathering later turned into an angry demonstration.

The students chanted slogans condemning the "liars" demanding the resignation of those responsible for the shooting down, coverage of the accident and their trial.

Fars, widely seen as being close to the Revolutionary Guards, showed pictures of a group of people and a torn picture of Soleimani. It stated that the number of protesters is estimated at 700 to one thousand people.

Twitter footage showed hundreds of people in front of Amir Kabir University in Tehran chanting, "Go, go, Khamenei."

The demonstrators, who gathered in front of the university in Tehran on Saturday, chanted slogans against the Iranian regime, and slogans such as "Let the Revolutionary Guards be ashamed, leave the country safely", "Death to the dictator", "We want the liars' resignation", and "We want the commander-in-chief of the armed forces (Khamenei) to resign" ), And “Do not tell us that they arouse discord, but you are discord.”

After the angry demonstration launched anti-regime slogans, the Iranian special police forces intervened, blocking the roads leading to the demonstration, preventing citizens from going to it.

And the Iranian Staff announced on Saturday in a statement that its air defense system shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane, after a "human error", the moment it passed over a "sensitive military zone".

Tehran had initially denied the plane was caused by a missile, and said it had convincing evidence in this regard. For days, she denied Western accusations that she was responsible for the plane crash that occurred on Wednesday, killing all 176 people in it.

On January 8, a Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed, killing 176 people, including 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians, 11 Ukraine, 10 Swedes, 4 Afghans, 3 Germans and 3 Britons.

On Saturday, the authorities said that the air defense systems, which were on alert after Iranian missile strikes on American targets in Iraq, fired a missile towards the plane in error.

In a message on Twitter on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif blamed the plane for what he described as the American adventure trend. Beta Razzak replied, “This is the finish line, Mr. Minister! You have destroyed everything. ”

The Arabs

link

[DinarThug]

Iran is giving death to its allies

 

- 3 Hours Ago

 

 

All the powerful countries offer their allies the economic, scientific and technical ingredients that push them to progress, and even colonial countries were working on what stimulates the economy, builds cities and develops education to justify their colonization. We can say, even the old empires were building and developing the areas in which they expanded.

But the Iranian regime, according to a senior Iraqi intellectual, says that it only provides its allies with killing and tools, so it establishes, equips, and trains militias. The elements of these militias are non-Iranians and fight the Iranian regime's battles on its behalf outside Iranian territory.

Whoever engages in these militias is either killed or killed. In both cases, it does not constitute a loss for Iranians known for their racism. These militias are practicing their aggression with explosions and assassinations, as Iraq has witnessed.

And the confirmation of what this Iraqi intellectual said is what the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Khalifa Qasim Soleimani, Ismail Qazani announced, in a televised dialogue and through Iranian websites, vowing to America that "resistance movements" will ensure the response to America and its allies. And from the very first moments of the death of Qassem Soleimani, Iran published the term “international resistance” in order to provoke and mobilize its proxies in the region, which is a reference from Iran to these militias and their arms spread throughout the world to unite their ranks and urge them to target the United States and its interests and partners in the Middle East.

Ismail Qaani put the flags of these militias behind him, which is a clear signal from the Revolutionary Guards threatening to use these militias located in more than one place, which Iran calls "resistance movements", which is also a clear Iranian admission that it is the sponsor of terrorism in the region, and it is no longer a secret that loyalty These movements and militias of the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian jurist, Ali Khamenei.

Death, vandalism, and destruction are what the Iranian regime presented to the Iraqis through an outcast broker, represented by these gangs, movements, and militias, which sparked the struggle between the people of the homeland, destroyed their cities, and killed their best children.

The word intervention is no longer sufficient to denote Iranian influence. It has been proven that Tehran inside Iraq has a physical presence, its representatives are present in Parliament, and it is transmitted in the ranks of the armed forces and has more than 60 representatives (combat military), whether under the name of the popular crowd or a single militia.

The Wilayat al-Faqih party has reached the three presidencies in Iraq, and the Iraqi national leadership led by the young people alone is able to purify the country from foreign powers:American or Iranian, so young people are complicated by the hope of liberating their country, and they have reached awareness that made them realize this, and therefore the liberation of the country from The Iranian occupation is at the forefront of the goals of their mobility, and it is a priority for their purposes and goals. The first day of last October and the fall of hundreds of martyrs were a confirmation of the continuation of the revolution.

The idea that Iran only provides its allies with death is supported by a report issued by the US Military Intelligence Agency, "the DIA," which states that "Iran's military strategy is not only limited to weapons programs, but also aims to create irregular armed entities." Such as: some of the popular crowd groups in Iraq or Hezbollah in Lebanon or the Houthi movement in Yemen, and “Iran's dependence on unconventional operations through terrorist organizations, especially through the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and specifically the Quds Force, which poses the greatest danger in the range Near, especially for the neighboring countries in the Gulf. "

This was also confirmed by experts, including the researcher at the Orient Center for Regional and Strategic Studies and a specialist in Iranian affairs, Fathi Al-Sayyid, and a specialist in financing matters belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Shiar Turku, and the Syrian journalist Muhammad Al-Abdullah, among others, who said that Iran has, since the outbreak of the Syrian war, To transfer deadly aid to the militias affiliated with it with the aim of supporting the Syrian regime and expanding its influence in the country and the region, and that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard works through its proxies to destabilize the countries of the region to facilitate the extension of its influence, in reference to Iran's sponsorship of cells in other countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and These groups have received assistance from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to purchase or manufacture weapons, and have gained significant power on the ground that turned them into a solid tool in their hands.

In order to protect himself from terrorism, the world has to hold Iran fully responsible for any crimes that may occur in the coming days against innocent and defenseless people in the entire Arab world, and that it seeks to stop Iran and its militias when alone, and then work to freeze the actions of all criminal terrorist terrorist militia Of Iran within Iraq and its international trial, and work, in addition to that, to delegate the real sons of Iraq to administer rule in their country and confine arms to the army and the state only, and he should also consider supporting the Iranian opposition with all of them.

The Arabs

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[DinarThug]

An American expert: Trump can launch an attack that could completely block Iran

In World News  , January 12, 2020 

 

In a comment to retired US Navy officer, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, on the positions of US President Donald Trump toward Iran, he highlighted the measures that the President has taken to help American forces, following the escalation of tension in the Middle East and his political moves before it, which have not been covered Informative enough.

According to what was published by "Fox News", North said, in an interview during the "Hannity Show" program presented by the famous American journalist Shane Patrick Hannity, saying: "I felt happy to see him (Trump) explaining to the world the reason we did what we did." To launch an air strike that killed the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani.

North added, "I don't think he (Trump) has ever backed away (referring to his speech on Wednesday)." I think he set the standards in the sense that if an American was killed, he would in return pay someone in Iran the price of that. ”

North also praised Trump for his efforts to help US forces stationed in the Middle East, criticizing some media outlets for failing to cover the issue properly.

"Let me mention 3 steps that Trump did not get the (due) praise for doing, because the other major media outlets don't want the American people to know them," North said.

North said: “Back in May, he (Trump) convinced the Russians not to sell one of the most spectacular and most effective aircraft in the world to Iran. To date, such an achievement has not been praised and has not been highlighted.

North added, "The second incident is when he began sending and deploying missiles and fighters last week in the region (the Middle East)."

North said that Trump made a decision this week "to start sending 6 B-52 and B-52S fighters, which are offensive combat weapons." Each carried 20 cruise missiles (i.e. 6 times 20 missiles). It is a group (of 120) of cruise missiles that can bomb (Iranian) oil refineries, meaning that we can (the United States) launch an attack that would block the entire gates of the country (Iran).

North commented, explaining that these are just examples of steps initiated by Trump "months ago," expressing surprise at the failure of the American media to highlight it: "He will never be credited with this."

In his speech, Trump had indicated strengthening the armament of the US military under his administration, but added that "the fact that we (the United States) have this great army and equipment, but, does not mean that we need to use them ... we do not want to use them."

Trump's word came after Iran launched 16 ballistic missiles on Iraq, targeting 11 missiles, including the Ain al-Assad air base, which includes American forces, and one ballistic missile fell on the US military base in Erbil, while 4 other missiles failed to hit their targets.

LINK

[Pitcher]

52 minutes ago, yota691 said:

Major General Hussein Salami,

 

General Salami!!!  Spank it General.  

 

[DinarThug]

How much is the dollar?" .. a question that preoccupies Iraqis after the killing of Soleimani

 in a most important news  January 12, 2020 

 

Al-Jazeera Net - Baghdad

Concern and fear dominated the people in Iraq, after the Iraqi dinar depreciated against the dollar after the assassination of America more than a week ago, the Iranian Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani and the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Committee, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, and fears of a war between America and Iran on the Iraqi scene.

And the last days witnessed a great demand for buying the dollar for fear of the collapse of the Iraqi currency, especially after the threat of US President Donald Trump a few days ago to impose economic sanctions on Iraq if the latter insisted on demanding the removal of American forces.

A source in the Central Bank of Iraq told Al-Jazeera Net that the bank was able to recover the value of the dinar after its decline during the past days, due to the reason for the decline due to the breakdown of official working hours in the past days and the tension in the Iraqi street, indicating that the central bank pumped through the window of selling the dollar during Three days 1.3 billion dollars on the market.

He stressed that the value of the dinar will return to normal within days, after the shock has been overcome by citizens, explaining that the central bank has sufficient funds from foreign exchange to meet the market need and maintain the dinar.

Import stopped
during the last days in which the dinar fell, most merchants stopped importing goods, which caused a slight increase in goods, with the increasing demand by citizens to buy food to store them for fear of imposing an economic blockade on Iraq, evoking the blockade that the country experienced in The nineties of the last century.

"I will lose 25 thousand dollars if I buy the goods now from Turkey, because the hundred dollars increased four thousand against the dinar," according to clothing dealer Adel Atwani, justifying not importing new goods.

Al-Atwani explained to Al-Jazeera Net that his purchases of goods are in dollars and are sold in dinars, and therefore the process of transferring money currently leads to a great loss, considering that stopping work is much better, indicating that exchange companies now, when you buy them from the dollar, will be worth 1245 dinars while they are buying the dollar The price is 1210 dinars, which is a very big difference. ”

It is noteworthy that Iraq enters daily from the sale of oil, more than two hundred million dollars, while the central bank sells the dollar in the window of currency sale five days a week, between 150 million dollars - three hundred million dollars per day, to cover the demand for the dollar before Merchants, money transfers and others.

Challenges
but Saad Al-Kilani, the owner of an exchange in the city of Fallujah, told Al-Jazeera Net that most exchange companies stopped working, because working in this circumstance needs a great risk, indicating that the central bank's pumping of the dollar was to cover imports while there is a very small percentage that went to Local market.

He noted that the coming days will witness a fluctuation in the exchange rate of the dollar, as a result of political and security conditions, while the financial and economic expert, Maytham Laibi, said in his talk to Al Jazeera Net that the Iraqi economy will face many challenges during the current year, as a result of developments in the region that will lead to increased demand for The dollar.

He stressed that the Central Bank of Iraq is currently working to restore stability to the economy by maintaining the value of the dinar, and not creating two prices for the dollarbecause of increased speculation and an increase in the demand for the dollar, noting that the central bank will keep the exchange rate as it has a good stock of the dollar.

In the meantime, Nabil al-Marsoumi, a professor of economics at the University of Basra, told Al-Jazeera Net, "The decline of the dinar exchange rate against the dollar in recent times has not been linked to an economic crisis, but this decline has been linked to the state of panic linked to the developments in Iraq and the region."

He pointed out that most of the Iraqis transferred their savings from the dinar to the dollar, which created a strong demand for the dollar, which led to a rise in its price against the dinar, noting that large smuggling of the dollar takes place to Iran to cover the Iraqi merchants' imports of Iranian goods, due to the embargo imposed on the Iranian banking system and preventing it From dealing in dollars.

Source: Al-Jazeera

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[DinarThug]

The Iraqi uprising overthrew the efforts of Iran's supporters to stop it

 

- 8 Minutes Past

 

 

More than 100 days have passed since the start of the Iraqi protests, at a time when the forces of power and political currents loyal to it, as well as armed factions loyal to Iran, continue to use all available means to disrupt or end these demonstrations, which have been directed since their inception with slogans demanding justice and the drop of sectarian and partisan quotas, as well On the main claims against foreign interference in Iraqi affairs.

The means of intimidation

The power and political forces loyal to Iran sensed the dangers of the continuation of these protests calling for an end to Tehran's influence in Iraq, and worked to end it from the first day of its launch, using several pretexts, most notably that the protesters are supported externally and funded by foreign intelligence services to manage a "conspiracy" against Iraq by "America" Israel and Saudi Arabia, ”as well as accusations of sabotage and disruption of public life, and talk about the presence of the“ American-backed Joker ”character in the demonstrations, according to the leaders of some armed factions.

But it did not stop at the limits of the accusations, but armed militias and some security forces since the protests began in early October 2019, created a state of terror among the protesters, starting with snipers who the government has not yet disclosed the real defendants in this case, through excessive use Violence by firing live bullets and smoke bombs on the heads of the protesters, and not ending with the kidnappings and systematic assassinations carried out by parties that the Iraqi government says are "third parties", while activists accuse armed factions loyal to the main parties in the authority of carrying out these operations.

Perhaps the tools to suppress the protests were not limited to the use of violence, as observers say that the authority and armed factions loyal to Iran have harnessed thousands of pages on social networking sites under the name of “electronic armies” and dozens of satellite channels to distort the protests and accuse them of being driven by the intelligence of Western and Arab countries with the aim of “sabotaging” The country and its foreign conspiracy administration.

Sustaining momentum

On the other hand, the protesters used several means to maintain the momentum of their demonstrations, since the second wave of protests and the start of sit-ins in Tahrir Square and the rest of the protest squares in the central and southern governorates on October 25.

Perhaps the large-scale repression in the demonstration arenas was one of the most important reasons for perpetuating the momentum, as activists relied on promoting pictures of those killed in the protests, in a sign that this authority poses a threat to the country's future, a shift from demonstrating to open sit-in, as well as correcting protesters of political failures. The ongoing one, the most recent of which was to make Iraq an arena to settle American-Iranian accounts, to push society to reject that authority, according to observers.

Two million outside lineups

The protest scene witnessed a lukewarm days after the assassination of the head of the “Popular Mobilization Forces” Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and the commander of the Iranian “Quds Force” Qassem Soleimani, and the American-Iranian conflict took the Iraqi scene, which led to the growing fears among protesters that this conflict may be the beginning of the end Their protests, as several parties attempted to employ this conflict as part of the crisis, taking advantage of this scene to accuse the protests of being an American driven party.

After the end of the crisis on Iraqi soil, the protesters found an opportunity to restore the momentum of their protests as they were in the early days of their launch.

Activists on social networking sites called for a millionaire organization on Friday, January 10 (January 10), aiming to emphasize a position outside the lineups between Washington and Tehran, and to remind them of their demands once again, which is to nominate an independent prime minister and dissolve parliament to start early elections under UN supervision, Communicating a message to the authority that they are still an active and essential element in shaping the political future of Iraq.

Iranian efforts failed

To that, writer and journalist Ali Riyadh said, "The protest squares announced on Friday clearly the failure of the efforts of the parties linked to Iran to end the movements, after hundreds of thousands took to the streets and returned blood to the arteries of the uprising."

He added to "The Independent Arabia", "The protest relied mainly on creating reactions against huge authoritarian and militia actions, these mistakes were the largest tools, and was accompanied by the spontaneous unregulated mass mobilization, which carried dozens of technical and political faces," synonymous with "as if social media has become Live channels and broadcasts, whose authors and editors are the demonstrators themselves.

On the American-Iranian conflict, Riyadh explained that “the growing sense of responsibility towards the State of Iraq began when the protesters realized that they were the actual authority, and that the authority sitting on administration and legislation offices is empty or a client abroad, and thus the reactions have shifted from demanding the rights of the people to demanding the rights of the country and the state.” .

He continued, "The exchange of the American-Iranian bombing on the Iraqi lands, and the authority's talk of shame and shame on Iraqi sovereignty, blamed the Iraqi protester for a new responsibility, which may appear surreal or fantasy to any external follower of Iraqi affairs, which is the responsibility to defend the sovereignty of Iraq."

He pointed out that "what proves that is the slogan that was raised for yesterday's demonstration, which is (1/10 our response to the homeland ... 10/1 the homeland is our response"), and in this formula the protesters felt that there was a hidden call from Iraq for them to support them.

An anticipated escalation of protest

Professor of political science, Qahtan al-Khafaji, said that “the efforts of the forces close to Tehran have failed to disrupt and end the demonstrations under the pretexts of regional and international conflicts,” noting that “the Iraqi street has proven its positions in confronting all foreign projects and demonstrated its true national identity to all those who doubt it.”

He added to "The Independent Arabia", "Since the beginning of the protests, these political forces have gone to accuse the popular movement of its motives and financing are external, but the conflict that has recently flared up between America and Iran and the position of the protesters against it, has proven the invalidity of these arguments."

Al-Khafaji said that the protests will continue until its demands are fulfilled, pointing out that "the protests may witness an escalation in the coming days to expedite the selection of an independent prime minister and the holding of early elections, and may enjoy significant support from the international community."

He continued, "The forces close to Iran will restore attempts to end the protests, but the awareness of the protesters demonstrated its ability to contain these attempts and large-scale attacks, and he was able to show the identity of the national movement."

And on the hadith of the Marjaiya in Najaf regarding “strangers” in Iraq, Al-Khafaji stated that “Marjai’ah has embarrassed these forces to some extent, but it has always given the authority of Marjaiya to their advantage.”

Dhi Qar ... great momentum and calls for strike

The protests in Nasiriyah, the center of Dhi Qar governorate, have regained their momentum as public calls for a general strike increase, due to the failure to fulfill the demands of protesters, and the delay in nominating an independent, non-controversial prime minister, as well as incidents of assassinations and security shortcomings, according to activist Ali al-Rikabi, who said “the reflection of political crises or The conflicts inside Iraq did not affect the protest. Rather, they are motivating factors for him and a reminder that the ruling political class made Iraq an arena of international conflict, indicating that "the main requirement is that Iraq be independent and sovereign."

He continued, "The forces of power and since the start of the protests, they are trying to drag the protesters to the clash box, but these efforts failed and the protests are still peaceful despite the continuous repression and killing of the protesters in Dhi Qar," adding that the revolutionaries were expecting these scenarios and did not and will not retreat.

A last project

Activists in the protest movement fear the consequences of ending their demonstrations and the victory of power over them, so that they see that this is the last opportunity they have in exchange for the current authority, whose survival for the protesters is a major impasse, which created a great motivation for the continuation of these protests to more than 100 days.

Meanwhile, activist Muhtadi Abu Al-Joud said, "The protests have exceeded its 100th day, and many have gambled on its end in its first month, but the Iraqis consider the October Uprising project their last project to rid themselves of this political junta."

He added, "This project is what led to the continuation of the student strike until now, as well as the confusing movement in the streets and the reluctance of people to perform their work and sit in the tents."

He continued, "The protest passes at times with a retreat or stagnation, but this does not mean that it has ended, and you saw the numbers yesterday, these numbers were a sufficient and adequate response to those who doubt the seriousness of this uprising."

The protest is a political act

On the impact of the American-Iranian conflict on the protests, Abu Al-Joud said, "This conflict had an effect on the arenas, but it showed the national mineral of youth, and their distance from the ugly binary illusions that say: Either they are Iranian or American", pointing out that "the response of the youth In the protest arenas, it was clear when they raised the slogan "America and Iran are two sides of the same coin."

He pointed out that "the first generation of October is the generation of the national ego, and it will determine the independent future of Iraq."

In the same context, academic and activist Ammar Al-Rubaie says, “Since the protests are a political act, certainly all other political crises will affect the movement, especially as the protest arenas carry more than one opinion regarding foreign and even domestic politics.”

He continued, "After the cautious calm on the regional scene, the movement returned with great momentum and strong pressure to achieve the legitimate demands."

Repression by the Iraqi authorities against the protesters continues, the most recent of which was the massive repression in Basra governorate on Friday, in addition to the continuing kidnappings and killings of activists and journalists, the most recent of which was the assassination of the Tigris channel correspondent in Basra, Ahmed Abdel Samad and the photographer Safaa Ghali, Trying to terrorize the protesters. Noting that the death toll from the protests rose to about 600 dead and more than 25,000 injured.

Ahmed Al-Suhail

The Arab Independent

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Edited January 12, 2020 by DinarThug

[DinarThug]

LINK

Top pro-Iran militia commander killed in Iraq - Taleb Abbas Ali al-Saedi, top Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) commander was killed by unidentified gunmen on Saturday night, in Iraq

 

 

12th January, 2020

 

A top pro-Iran militia commander named Taleb Abbas Ali al-Saedi was shot at the Shi'ite holy city of Karbala, in Iraq, late Saturday night. Another Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) commander Abu Mahdi al-Mahandis was killed along with top Iranian military commander, Qasem Soleimani, in a US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport, on January 3.

The attack heightened hostility between Tehran and Washington and brought both countries at the brink of a major escalation.  

The top leader of pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) was killed by unarmed gunmen at Karbala, located 100 km south-west of Iraqi capital Baghdad.

PMF is an umbrella organization consisting of the Shi'ite militia. The organization is one of the major forces fighting ISIS in Iraq and alongside troops in Syria, loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Al-Saedi belonged to the Karbala Brigades, a unit within PMF.

Aurora Intel@AuroraIntel

 

 

A commander of Abbas Ali Al-Sa'edi which is a Pro-#Iran #PMU has been assassinatedi in Karbala, #Iraq

 

No details are available about the gunmen, Dailymail reported US Central Command, which oversees American military activity in the Middle East, hasn't issued any statement on the assassination.

American crackdown on Iranian and pro-Iranian commanders

On January 3, Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed along with PMF leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. Later information emerged that America 'unsuccessfully' tried to assassinate another Iranian commander Abdul Reza Shahlai, in an airstrike at Yemen, on the same day it killed Soleimani and al-Muhandis.

Iran retaliated by firing more than a dozen missiles at Iraqi military bases of Al-Assad and Erbil, which house American and coalition troops. No American was harmed in the attack. In the fog of war, Iran "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 onboard. Iran has apologized for the mistake, but the downing of the plane, which killed Iranian and foreign nationals, has led to protests in Iran, calling for Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini to step down.

 

##################

 

LINK

High-ranking pro-Iranian militia commander shot dead in Iraq: report

 

 

11th January, 2020

 

A high-ranking pro-Iranian militia commander was fatally shot in Iraq Saturday night, according to a Daily Mail report citing local media.

Taleb Abbas Ali al-Saedi, a top leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces, was killed in Karbala, a city in central Iraq, by “unidentified gunmen,” the outlet reported.

Popular Mobilization Forces is an umbrella organization of about 40 paramilitary groups mostly associated with Iran-backed Shiite militias. The organization is one of the major forces fighting ISIS in Iraq and alongside troops in Syria loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

The shooting comes amid rising tension between the US and Iran after an American drone strike killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani earlier this month.

Popular Mobilization Forces criticized the US for the attack, which also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, one of its leaders.

Iran retaliated to the US attack with missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing American military forces, which drew no casualties, according to President Trump.

Iranian protesters took to the streets of Tehran Saturday after their government acknowledged it unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian airliner on Wednesday, killing 176 people on board.  Demonstrators gathered at several universities for what began as a vigil but grew into a rally against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

[DinarThug]

Rockets strike Iraq base hosting American forces

 

38 minutes ago  

 

 

Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

 

 

A volley of rockets slammed into an Iraqi airbase north of Baghdad where US forces have been based, wounding four local troops, the Iraqi military said on Sunday.

Its statement said eight Katyusha-type rockets landed on Al Balad airbase, wounding two Iraqi officers and two airmen.

Sunday's attack wounded an Iraqi air force officer and three enlisted men, Iraqi security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The rockets struck Al Balad air base, which hosts American trainers, advisers and a company that provides maintenance services for F-16 aircraft. Some rockets fell on a restaurant inside the airbase, the officials said.

A statement from the Iraqi army's official media office confirmed the attack but said eight rockets hit the base, and that two officers had been wounded. The difference in accounts could no immediately be reconciled.

“There are American experts, trainers and advisers at the base,” said one defense official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media.

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Edited January 12, 2020 by DinarThug

[DinarThug]

US National Security Adviser: We will leave Iraq as agreed

Sunday January 12, 2020

Baghdad / Al-Sabah

 

 

In a new American position with a flexible tone, US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien announced that the United States intends to withdraw its forces from Iraq according to a system and timing determined by the agreement with Baghdad regarding his country's military presence in Iraqi territory.

"What we have to do is leave according to our agreement, and in a way that ISIS will be totally eliminated," O'Brien said in an interview with the American Fox News channel on Sunday, commenting on the future of the US military presence in Iraq. Caliphate (ISIS's myth), and we are now working hard to get rid of ISIS remains. "

To that, members of Parliament submitted a request to the Presidency of the Council to establish an international conference to support Iraqi sovereignty, and according to a statement of a member of the Fatah Alliance, Hamid Abbas al-Musawi, received "Al-Sabah", a copy of it, the members called for "the establishment of the International Conference to support Iraqi sovereignty, on It should be preceded by a national dialogue to come out with a united position to support sovereignty Iraqi. "

LINK

[Floridian]

9 minutes ago, DinarThug said:

US National Security Adviser: We will leave Iraq as agreed

 

So, are they gonna pay us back for all the money we've spent in Iraq?

[Pitcher]

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/Story/45411/Qatar-s-Emir-lands-in-Tehran-for-talks
 

Qatar's Emir lands in Tehran for talks

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has shortly arrived in Iran’s capital, Tehran, to hold talks with senior officials, including President Hassan Rouhani.

The visit on Sunday comes amid heightened tensions in the Gulf following the US assassination of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad and Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes at US targets in Iraq.

State-run Qatar News Agency (QNA) said the talks will focus on “bilateral relations between the two countries and ways of promoting and enhancing them, as well as the latest developments in the region and the regional and international issues of mutual concern”.

Tamim is accompanied by an official delegation.

Earlier on Sunday, the emir headed to Oman’s capital, Muscat, where he offered his condolences to the Gulf state;s new sultan, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, for the death of his predecessor, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said.

[Pitcher]

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/Story/45431/Great-respect-Mike-Lee-praises-Trump-s-restraint-following-Iran-missile-attacks-after-slamming-briefing
 

'Great respect': Mike Lee praises Trump's restraint following Iran missile attacks after slamming briefing

Sen. Mike Lee applauded President Trump for not escalating military action between Iran and the United States after the former launched a series of ballistic missiles at a pair of U.S.-Iraqi airbases.

"I have great respect for President Trump, for how he's handled this situation, and how he has handled other situations involving his immense power as commander in chief," the Utah Republican said Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation. "I believe more than any other president, in any lifetime, President Trump has shown restraint in how he’s exercised that power.”

It was a deviation in tone for Lee, a Republican who left a congressional hearing last week on Trump's decision to kill top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani livid.

"I had hoped and expected to receive more information outlining the legal, factual, and moral justification for the attack," Lee said last week after leaving the meeting. "The briefing lasted only 75 minutes, whereupon our briefers left. This, however, is not the biggest problem I have with the briefing, which I would add was probably the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue, in the nine years I've served in the United States Senate."

Trump first said Soleimani was killed due to the "imminent" threat he posed to American lives in the region. More recently, Trump said Soleimani — an officially designated terrorist — was plotting to blow up multiple U.S. embassies in the Middle East. Lee said Sunday he and fellow lawmakers were not told about the threat to the embassies during the briefing.

"I don't recall being told that there were four embassies. I'm sure there was a mention of at least one embassy in that briefing because there had been an attack on one of our embassies in the days leading up to general Soleimani’s killing," the Utah senator said, adding that while he wasn't pleased to learn of the plots on television, "The problem there is not with the president" but is "with those who were briefing us."

In recent months, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, led by Soleimani, has shot down U.S. drones in the Middle East, attacked Saudi oil fields, and propped up militias fighting U.S. forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Leading Democrats have expressed outrage that Trump did not seek congressional approval before ordering the takedown of Soleimani. Some have suggested he did so for his personal benefit or to distract from his impeachment by the U.S. house. Republicans, in defending Trump, have pointed instead to former President Barack Obama's policy toward Iran, which they often characterize as "weak" and "ineffective."

Following the Iranian attacks on the U.S.-Iraqi military bases, in which no Americans were killed, Trump said the nation "appears to be standing down" and slapped the country with sanctions rather than retaliating with more military force.