THREAD/ A few weeks ago, a source close to Iraqi militias told me this was exactly how Soleimani & Muhandis wanted to "go out"- a brave death at hands of enemies as martyrs. The commanders were hated by some in Iran/Iraq but respected by many #soleimani
reuters.com/article/us-ira…
reuters.com/article/us-ira…
The assassination provides the pretext for an Iran which, under sanctions pressure looks happy to have a distraction, ramp up its attacks against US interests in the region. It can do this in many ways & can have missiles pointed at US bases & US/Gulf oil sites in no time...
The move might also further alienate Iraq from US 'overtures', such as they were under Trump ('you must sign oil deals with us, you must rein in Iranian proxies') - Iraq PM & top cleric Sistani say killings are a clear breach of Iraq sovereignty reuters.com/article/us-ira…
It provides ammo for Iran's allies in parliament/govt to boot US troops out of Iraq once and for all - a dangerous development as Islamic State militants which the US Coalition is key to killing aspire to a resurgence #soleimani #isis
It also kills off a master tactician who fanatically opposed the US, but did act with pragmatism, and was one of the few leaders able to just about keep a lid on military escalation, enough to avoid a spillover into total conflict #soleimani reuters.com/article/us-ira…
The US has been trying to weaken Iran, and the economic pressure has well and truly bitten internally. But America is still in Iran's backyard. Tehran will make good on promises to make life hell for the US & allies in the Middle East. #soleimani reuters.com/article/us-ira…
For Iraq, this destabilizes the country when it is already in crisis mode. Mass protests against its govt have shaken it out of relative calm. The low-scale war that US & Iran appear to be starting will play out on Iraqi soil and will sideline a genuine pro-democracy movement
In short, nothing good can come from these assassinations, carried out at this time and in this manner. ENDS
