Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi spoke up a few hours after certainty over Qasem Soleimani's death. In a statement, he called Soleimani a "martyr". Abdul Mahdi condemned the US attack, in which the Iranian was killed, as "an obvious violation of Iraqi sovereignty".
The killing of the powerful commander of the Iranian Quds Brigades is the tentative low point for a confrontation between Iran and the United States on Iraqi soil. The conflict has escalated again in the past few days and should escalate further in the medium term. Iraq as a sovereign state is in danger of being crushed.
In the video: The scenery after the missile attack in Baghdad
IRAQS SECURITY MEDIA CELL HANDOUT / EPA-EFE / REX
The United States violated Iraqi sovereignty by launching a drone attack near Baghdad International Airport: an attack on Iraqi soil without the approval of the Iraqi government. In addition to Soleimani, several Iraqis were also killed, including the Shiite militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
It is the second such attack within a few days. In a series of air strikes against arms stores and command centers of the Hezbollah Brigades, a Shiite militia, the U.S. forces killed at least 25 fighters. Hundreds of supporters of the Shiite militia subsequently attacked the US embassy in Baghdad.
Tehran's influence also threatens Iraq's sovereignty
Iraqi sovereignty is threatened not only by uncoordinated US air strikes, but also by Tehran's influence in the country. The reason for this is the role of the so-called people's mobilization units.
The Shiite militia alliance, which also includes the Hezbollah brigades, plays a kind of hybrid role in the Iraqi state structure. Legally, the fighters who played a crucial role in recovering large parts of the country from the IS terrorist militia are under the control of the Iraqi government. By law, they were incorporated into the country's security apparatus.
In fact, their loyalty to Tehran. Significant in this respect: al-Muhandis, who was killed together with Soleimani, was vice-chief of the militia group. He was considered an advisor to the Iranian general.
The gap between the legal status and the actual work of the Shiite fighters can sometimes have bizarre consequences. The US airstrikes against the Hezbollah brigades were preceded by an attack on an Iraqi military base in the city of Kirkuk, in which one American was killed and several Iraqi soldiers were injured. If the allegation was true, one arm of the Iraqi state would have attacked another.
REUTERS / Ako Rasheed
People's Mobilization Parade: Tehran's Trojan Horse
On the US side, there is great frustration that the Iraqi Prime Minister is flagellation of the American operation, but remains silent on Iran's work. Iraq has failed to fulfill its responsibility to "protect us as its invited guests," the State Department said in Washington.
Legally, the presence of over 5,000 US soldiers in Iraq is based on a security agreement between the two countries. Accordingly, the United States advises and supports the government and security forces of Iraq in the fight against IS.
The blow that killed Soleimani and al-Muhandis is not covered by this mandate. On the contrary, the units they commanded played an important role in the fight against the terrorist militia. In his statement, Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi described the two killed as "symbols of the victory against the terrorists".
After the attacks on the Hezbollah brigades, his government announced that it would rethink relations with the United States, including its political and legal framework. Following the death of Soleimani and al-Muhandis, the Prime Minister has now asked Parliament to take "legal action" to protect Iraq's "dignity, security and sovereignty".
He did not explain exactly what that means. An American expulsion from the country? Proiran forces, which also support Abdul Mahdi's government, have been pushing for this for some time. So far, however, there has been no majority in parliament. Abdel Mahdi also resigned after weeks of protests at the end of November; he leads the government affairs until a successor is appointed.
United Nations special rapporteur speaks of violation of human rights
The killing of Soleimani raises further legal questions. The Pentagon justified the measure by saying that Soleimani had "actively developed plans to attack US diplomats and forces in Iraq and throughout the region." It was therefore a defense act to protect US citizens. The U.S. Department of Defense did not provide details of what specific attacks Soleimani had planned at the time of his killing. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke to CNN of an imminent attack in which numerous Americans were to be killed.
Agnès Callamard, UN rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, on the other hand, described the killing as "probably illegal" and as a violation of international human rights standards.
#Iraq: The targeted killings of Qasem Soleiman and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis are most lokely unlawful and violate international human rights law: Outside the context of active hostilities, the use of drones or other means for targeted killing is almost never likely to be legal (1)
- Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) January 3, 2020The United States would have to prove that the fatalities pose an imminent danger, Callamard wrote on Twitter. Participation in past terrorist attacks is not enough. "Justifications for such killings are very narrowly defined, and it is difficult to imagine how one of them can be applied to these killings," Callamard wrote.
The legality of the attack is also being discussed in the United States. The Democrats, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, accuse Trump of failing to act in concert with Congress. Republicans like Senator Marco Rubio, on the other hand, justify the attack. It is self-defense, Rubio wrote on Twitter. There is therefore no need for congressional approval.
