Thousands march in Baghdad on anniversary of Soleimani assassination, pushing for withdrawal of U.S troops

BAGHDAD, IRAQ: On Saturday, a mock funeral procession was held in Baghdad, marking the first anniversary of the drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Thousands of mourners joined the march on the highway leading to the Baghdad airport, the exact highway where the two key figures were assassinated.

General Soleimani headed Iran's Revolutionary Guards and the elite Quds Force, which was responsible for the regime's proxy operations throughout the Middle East, especially in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

Soleimani's assassination led to a dramatic escalation in tensions across the region, and brought the United States and Iran to the brink of war - with many articulating this as the lowest point in their bilateral ties after the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

As reported by Al Jazeera, the current protests are focused on demanding that the Iraqi government place pressure on the United States to unilaterally withdraw the remaining soldiers from the country.

As the first anniversary of Soleimani's death loomed, tensions between Tehren and Washington have considerably ratcheted up, as in a letter to the United Nations Security Council, Iran condemned "U.S military adventurism” in the Gulf, and “fake information, baseless accusations and threatening rhetoric against Tehran".

Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Javad Zarif mentioned on Twitter that, "new intelligence from Iraq indicate(s) that Israeli agent-provocateurs are plotting attacks against Americans – putting an outgoing Trump in a bind with a fake casus belli (act justifying war)".