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Boris Johnson’s silence on Suleimani assassination is ‘deafening’ say critics Politicians attack the prime minister for not addressing the Middle East crisis from his holiday on MustiqueBoris Johnson was facing growing criticism on Saturday night for failing to cut short his Caribbean holiday as the Middle East faced one of the gravest crises since the Iraq war in 2003. Related: I have no confidence Boris Johnson will keep us out of a quagmire in Iran Continue reading... Go to Source

Qassem Suleimani: tears mix with vows of vengeance at Iranian general's funeral Mourners weep and beat chests as coffins of those killed in US drone strike pass through BaghdadIn a wide Baghdad street shaded by tall eucalyptus trees, thousands of weeping, chanting mourners thronged pick-up trucks and ambulances bearing the coffins of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and his close Iraqi associates, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and others, killed in a US drone strike that threatens to remake the region.Grief mingled with rage in the crowd, borne along by chants of “Oh Suleimani your blood won’t be shed in vain”, and the rhythms of a slow funeral march struck by a military band. An honour guard in long red tunics and white pith helmets escorted the dead; beyond them thousa...

Pompeo: European response to Suleimani killing 'not helpful enough' US secretary of state unfavourably compares European reaction with ‘partners in the region’Mike Pompeo has expressed disappointment with European reaction to the US killing of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani, suggesting that the UK, France and Germany had not been sufficiently supportive.The US secretary of state compared the European response unfavourably with US “partners in the region”, a likely reference to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which Pompeo had consulted after the Suleimani assassination. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump campaigns with patriotism after airstrike – but election is still far off Killing of Suleimani will help Trump among his supporters, but it could hurt him at the ballot box after promises of ‘America first’America’s long, grim line of assassination attempts“We have God on our side.” They have long been some of the most chilling words in the English language. Perhaps never more so than when uttered by Donald Trump in a re-election campaign.The president made the claim at an Evangelicals for Trump rally at a megachurch in Miami on Friday night, a day after taking America to the brink of war with the killing in Baghdad of Qassem Suleimani, Iran’s top general and potential future leader. Continue reading... Go to Source

Suleimani killing the latest in a long, grim line of US assassination efforts There has been no shortage of US attempts to remove foreign adversaries through highly dubious legal or ethical means The US government is no stranger to the dark arts of political assassinations. Over the decades it has deployed elaborate techniques against its foes, from dispatching a chemist armed with lethal poison to try to take out Congo’s Patrice Lumumba in the 1960s to planting poison pills (equally unsuccessfully) in the Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s food.But the killing of General Qassem Suleimani, the leader of Iran’s elite military Quds Force, was in in a class all its own. Its uniqueness lay not so much in its method – what difference does it make to the victim if they are ...

After Suleimani, Iran will hit back hard – possibly on multiple fronts Iran has military, covert and diplomatic options. And this new phase of the confrontation could quickly get out of handOn the outskirts of Tehran, vast cemeteries serve as a grim reminder of the high price Iran paid during its 1980-88 war with Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of young Iranians fought and died in a horrific struggle against Saddam Hussein’s invasion forces, which were armed by the US. Among those Iranian soldiers who survived was Qassem Suleimani.The war, by all accounts, was a formative experience for the man who would later rise to a dominant position in Iran’s military, security and intelligence establishment. Suleimani’s loyalty to Iran’s revolutionary regime, which seized pow...

Qassem Suleimani: chants of 'death to America' at Baghdad funeral Thousands of mourners attend funeral procession for Iranian general killed in US airstrikeA defining moment in the Middle EastThousands of mourners have marched in a funeral procession through Baghdad for Iran’s top general and Iraqi militant leaders who were killed in a US airstrike.The bodies of Qassem Suleimani and others killed in the drone strike were taken on a funeral procession starting in Baghdad to chants of “death the America” on Saturday. Iranian officials said a public farewell was planned in Tehran on Sunday. Continue reading... Go to Source

Iran vows revenge for US killing of top general Qassem Suleimani Fears of conflict spread as Trump appears to taunt Iran, saying it has never won a warThe Iran crisis – live updatesIran has vowed to take revenge for a US drone strike that killed its most powerful general, as the US secretary of state attempted to minimise the fallout from the dramatic attack by stating Washington was “committed to de-escalation”.The Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, ordered three days of mourning and declared that the US would face “severe revenge” for the killing of Qassem Suleimani, who ran Tehran’s military operations in Iraq and Syria. Continue reading... Go to Source

A visual guide to the US airstrike that killed Qassem Suleimani US-Iran tensions have escalated in the Middle East following the death of a powerful Iranian generala US airstrike killed the powerful Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in the early hours of Friday as he was being driven away from Baghdad international airport. Continue reading... Go to Source

Reprisals against US to come at time and place of Iran's choosing The threat to America and its allies is greatest in the Middle East, but Tehran has ample options when it comes to taking revengeIran has spent decades preparing for a moment like this, developing methods and networks around the world that give Tehran the widest possible choice when it comes to taking revenge. Related: Iran crisis: Trump says Suleimani 'should have been taken out years ago' – live updates Continue reading... Go to Source

US failing to give UK warning of military strikes, says senior MP Dominic Raab calls for calm as Tom Tugendhat says allies should not surprise each otherThe UK was not informed in advance of the US airstrike that killed Iran’s top general, it has been claimed, as the British government scrambled to protect its interests in the Middle East in the wake of the attack.The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said the government had “always recognised the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force”, whose leader Qassem Suleimani was killed in the strike. Continue reading... Go to Source

The Suleimani assassination goes against Trump’s policy – but not his character | Jonathan Freedland Although the US president says he wants to avoid military entanglements, he can’t resist the macho appeal of actionIs there any point looking for logic or consistency in the words and deeds of Donald Trump? It can seem a futile task. And yet for at least another year – and perhaps five more – he wields the power of life and death, able on a whim to plunge the world into war. Which means we are obliged at least to try to divine some thread of reason in his actions and statements, if only to prepare ourselves for what could be their lethal consequences. Related: US kills Iran general Qassem Suleimani in strike ordered by Trump Continue reading... Go to Source