TEHRAN — The United States is a clear example of a “terrorist state”, says Iranian Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi ahead of the first anniversary of the U.S. assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Unit deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

“We are today witnessing a serious determination on the side of Iran and Iraq for a common fight against the tension-creating and anti-security elements,” Raisi said on Tuesday during a phone conversation with Fayek Zidan, the president of the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq.

On January 3, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered drone strikes that martyred General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Iraq. The assassination, which took place near Baghdad’s international airport, was welcomed by ISIS.

The U.S. cited at the time an imminent threat posed by Soleimani against U.S. interests in the region. General Soleimani, however, was on a peace mission to Iraq that was targeted by the U.S. military. 

Iran has vowed to target whoever had a role in the cowardly assassination of the general. 

American political analyst Stephen Lendman has said “Trump provided no evidence of a Soleimani threat.” Lendman also said the claim by Trump that “he acted in self-defense was a bald-faced Big Lie.”

Raisi said the United States is the common enemy of the Iranian and Iraqi nations, saying the two neighboring countries should pursue the U.S.’s criminal assassination through international legal channels.

“The implementation of the Iraqi parliament's resolution regarding the exit of the Americans [from Iraq] will guarantee the security of Iraq,” the top judge added.

Back in January, two days after the assassination, the Iraqi parliament voted for a resolution requiring the government to order the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

“There is no need for the presence of American forces after defeating Daesh,” Ammar al-Shibli, a lawmaker sitting on the Iraqi Parliament legal committee, said at the time.

“We have our own armed forces which are capable of protecting the country,” he added.

A senior Iraqi judicial official said on Monday that appropriate court orders will be issued in the coming days regarding the suspects in the January 3 assassination. Haider Ali Nouri, a supervising member of the Information Center of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council, made the announcement in a statement as he was explaining the latest developments related to the case.

“The Iraqi Judiciary has made good progress in the investigation of this incident and intends to put a definite end to it,” the senior judicial official said.

He said the Special Court of Inquiry has completed the case and collected all the evidence by gathering the statements and testimony of witnesses to the incident, such as the staff of the Baghdad International Airport and the security forces present there.

Nouri added that the results obtained through the work of the investigation committee, review of relevant footages and official statements issued by the Trump administration are being finalized.

MH/PA