Millions of Iranians – many crying tears of rage – took to the streets Monday to mourn their assassinated military leader..Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei openly wept as he spoke at the funeral for his second-in-command Gen. Qassem Soleimani who was blown up in a drone strike by U.S. president Donald Trump on Friday..Hours later, the Washington Post and Reuters reported they had seen a letter to a top Iraqi military leader saying they were ready to move out..“Sir, in deference to the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested by the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister, CJTF-OIR will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement,” Reuters quoted from a letter from United States Marine Corps Brigadier General William H. Seely III, the commanding general of Task Force Iraq..“We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure,” it said..Iraq’s parliament on Sunday voted 170-0 that all foreign troops be ordered out of the country..It later appeared the Americans were just moving personnel out of the Baghdad area to other parts of the country..Earlier in the day, Zeinab Soleimani, the slain man’s daughter, told mourners at the nationally televised funeral: “America and Zionism should know that my father’s martyrdom will lead to awakening … in the resistance front and bring about a dark day for them and flatten their homes..“Crazy Trump, don’t think that everything is over with my father’s martyrdom.”.Iran has vowed bloody revenge for the assassination. Trump, in turn, has said any Iranian attempts to retaliate will be met with attacks on 52 sites in Iran. The same number of hostages Iranian students took at the U.S. embassy in 1980.Trump has said some of the planned attack sites are culturally important, prompting his opponents to say he is planning war crimes..“They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn’t work that way,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One Sunday night as he flew back to Washington from his holiday break in Florida..The caskets of Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also killed in Friday’s attack, were draped in flags as they were passed hand-over- hand through the teeming crowds..It was the biggest outpouring of grief since the 1989 funeral for the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini..Soleimani’s body will be buried Tuesday in his hometown of Kerman, in southern Iraq, on Tuesday..Soleimani was head of the Quds Force, the unit in charge of foreign operations of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Trump has said he is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans..In other developments..• CNN reported the U.S. was sending 6 massive B-52 bombers to a staging area in the Indian Ocean..• Oil prices on Monday rose to $70 a barrel..• The UK has said they wouldn’t support the U.S. bombing Iranian cultural sites..• Iran said they were dropping out of a 2015 nuclear deal that limited the amount of uranium they could develop..• The U.S. deployed 3,500 members of the 82nd Airborne to the Middle East..• France, the UK and Germany issued a joint statement urging restraint on all sides..dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter: @Nobby7694
Millions of Iranians – many crying tears of rage – took to the streets Monday to mourn their assassinated military leader..Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei openly wept as he spoke at the funeral for his second-in-command Gen. Qassem Soleimani who was blown up in a drone strike by U.S. president Donald Trump on Friday..Hours later, the Washington Post and Reuters reported they had seen a letter to a top Iraqi military leader saying they were ready to move out..“Sir, in deference to the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested by the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister, CJTF-OIR will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement,” Reuters quoted from a letter from United States Marine Corps Brigadier General William H. Seely III, the commanding general of Task Force Iraq..“We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure,” it said..Iraq’s parliament on Sunday voted 170-0 that all foreign troops be ordered out of the country..It later appeared the Americans were just moving personnel out of the Baghdad area to other parts of the country..Earlier in the day, Zeinab Soleimani, the slain man’s daughter, told mourners at the nationally televised funeral: “America and Zionism should know that my father’s martyrdom will lead to awakening … in the resistance front and bring about a dark day for them and flatten their homes..“Crazy Trump, don’t think that everything is over with my father’s martyrdom.”.Iran has vowed bloody revenge for the assassination. Trump, in turn, has said any Iranian attempts to retaliate will be met with attacks on 52 sites in Iran. The same number of hostages Iranian students took at the U.S. embassy in 1980.Trump has said some of the planned attack sites are culturally important, prompting his opponents to say he is planning war crimes..“They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn’t work that way,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One Sunday night as he flew back to Washington from his holiday break in Florida..The caskets of Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also killed in Friday’s attack, were draped in flags as they were passed hand-over- hand through the teeming crowds..It was the biggest outpouring of grief since the 1989 funeral for the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini..Soleimani’s body will be buried Tuesday in his hometown of Kerman, in southern Iraq, on Tuesday..Soleimani was head of the Quds Force, the unit in charge of foreign operations of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Trump has said he is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans..In other developments..• CNN reported the U.S. was sending 6 massive B-52 bombers to a staging area in the Indian Ocean..• Oil prices on Monday rose to $70 a barrel..• The UK has said they wouldn’t support the U.S. bombing Iranian cultural sites..• Iran said they were dropping out of a 2015 nuclear deal that limited the amount of uranium they could develop..• The U.S. deployed 3,500 members of the 82nd Airborne to the Middle East..• France, the UK and Germany issued a joint statement urging restraint on all sides..dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter: @Nobby7694
