Iran Press/ Middle East: A judge issued the warrant in Baghdad’s investigative court tasked with probing the Washington-directed drone strike that martyred Lt Gen Qasem Soleimani, late commander of Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Forces and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU), the court’s media office said.
They were martyred outside the capital’s airport alongside eight others in a terrorist attack by US drone attack last January.
The arrest warrant was for a charge of premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty on conviction. According to the Associated Press report, it is unlikely to be carried out but symbolic in the waning days of Trump’s presidency.
The decision to issue the warrant “was made after the judge recorded the claimants' statements from the family of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis,” according to a statement from the Supreme Judicial Council. The investigation into the assassination is ongoing, the court said.
The assassination sparked a diplomatic crisis and strained US-Iraq ties, drawing the ire of Shiite political lawmakers who passed a non-binding resolution to pressure the government to oust foreign troops from the country.
Iraqi people, officials, and political groups have since stepped up attacks against the American presence in Iraq, leading to threats by Washington to shutter its Baghdad diplomatic mission.
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