Activists hijack anniversary of assassinated Iranian general

IRAN’S commemorations of yesterday’s anniversary of the death of General Qassim Soleimani were hijacked by protesters who branded the late Revolutionary Guards commander a “murderer”.

The Iranian embassy in Turkey was forced to halt a Zoom commemoration when participants began to shout “murderer Iran” and changing usernames to “murderer Soleimani”, according to a video shared on social media by an NGO advocating for a democratic Iran.

The guests for the event included the Iranian ambassador to Ankara, Mohammad Farazmand, the vice president of Turkey’s Islamist Saadet party, and prominent writers and lawyers. It was advertised by the embassy with an open Zoom ID for anyone to join, organisers apparently not anticipating the protests from the Iran Democratic Association.

In Baghdad, where the assassination took place on Jan 3 last year, tens of thousands of Iraqis were estimated to have taken to the streets yesterday after a call from the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), the umbrella name for the Iran-backed militias in the country.

Carrying photos of Mr Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-muhandis, an Iraqi deputy of the PMF who also died in the strike, the supporters demanded the full withdrawal of US forces in Iraq.

The US airstrike that killed Gen Soleimani almost brought all-out conflict between the US and Iran.

On the anniversary, the region has been on high alert over the possibility of Iranian retaliation for the killing, as Donald Trump’s presidential turn nears its end.