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Iraq
An Iranian delegation meets with Iraqi officials at the headquarters of the Supreme Judicial Council in Baghdad on February 9, 2021. Photo via Iraqi News Agency
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iran’s Chief Justice Ebhraim Raisi met in Baghdad on Tuesday with the head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq Faiq Zaidan, where the two sides signed various memorandums of understanding, and also paid tribute to slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, according to Iraqi state media.
Raisi arrived in Baghdad on Monday on a three-day visit at the official invitation of Zaidan. He is also scheduled to meet with President Barham Salih, and Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.
"There is a serious Iraqi will to fight corruption, so a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Iraqi Integrity Commission and the Iranian General Inspection Authority," Raisi was quoted by state media as saying. Memorandums were also signed regarding prisoners and the ministries of justice in each country.
Raisi and his accompanying delegation also visited the assassination site of Soleimani, and the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al Shaabi in Arabic) , Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, near Baghdad International Airport on Monday.
"The assassination of Soleimani and Muhandis will not go unanswered," Raisi said in a speech during a press conference held near Baghdad airport, adding "the resistance of Iraqis against the elements of the Great Satan America deserves to be praised."
Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds force, and Muhandis, were killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad's international airport in January 2020, in an attack ordered by US President Donald Trump.
The killing of Soleimani sent US-Iran tensions soaring, and prompted a spate of rocket attacks on military bases in Iraq. It also pushed some Iraqi parliamentarians to pass a non-binding resolution calling on the expulsion of US forces from Iraq.
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al Shaabi in Arabic) channels on Telegram published pictures of Raisi meeting with a number of the families of “PMF martyrs” near Baghdad airport, while video clips showed chants of Iraqi crowds chanting "Iran and Iraq, no separation."
The visit coincides with the deployment of the Peace Brigades (Saraya al-Salam) militia members, followers of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, to several Iraqi cities just days after a spokesperson for the cleric threatened action against protesters gathered in the cities, many of whom have rallied against Iran-backed groups and Iranian influence in Iraq.
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