TEHRAN (Iran News) – Prime Minister of Iraq, Adel Abdul Mahdi received word from Iran that its missile attack on US airbase and the response to the US assassination of its top general was either imminent or underway, his spokesman said on Wednesday.

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According To Iran News, Caretaker government of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi announced three days of public mourning for members of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) who were killed in US drone strikes on a number of Kata’ib Hezbollah bases in Anbar province.

Mahdi announced three days of mourning starting Tuesday out of respect for “the lives of the martyrs of our armed forces … following the unjust assault they were subjected to.”

On Sunday, US forces conducted drone strikes on a number of Kata’ib Hezbollah bases in Iraq’s western Anbar province, killing at least 25 individuals and leaving another 51 injured.

Kata’ib Hezbollah is part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi.

Following the strikes, the Pentagon issued a statement saying that it had targeted three locations of the Iraqi fighters in Iraq and two in Syria in response to alleged attacks targeting American forces.

The incident led to a massive funeral ceremony for the Iraqi martyrs, followed by a huge rally by thousands of angry protesters who reached the US diplomatic mission in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, chanting ‘Death to America’ and burning US flags on Tuesday.

The protesters further held up signs calling for the US mission to be shut down and for the parliament to order US forces to leave Iraq.

Many protesters have set up tents, announcing plans for an indefinite sit-in until the embassy is closed and the ambassador expelled from the country.

A few hours into the protest, tear gas was fired in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iraq’s Parliament accepted the Iraqi PM, Adel Abdel Mahdi, resignation on Sunday, after two months of violent unrest that have left more than 420 people dead.

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In a statement on Friday, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Iraq’s PM, said he “listened with great concern” to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani’s sermon and made his decision about resignation in response to the cleric’s remarks.

“I will submit to parliament an official memorandum resigning from the current prime minister so that the parliament can review its choices,” he said.

“Everyone knows that I had previously suggested this option (to resign) during public and formal statements.”

Abdul-Mahdi was appointed Iraq’s fifth prime minister since 2003 as a consensus candidate following months of political wrangling between rival political blocs.

In his Friday remarks, the grand Ayatollah called on protesters to “separate their ranks from non-peaceful individuals and cooperate on shunning saboteurs” abusing the peaceful protests.

The top cleric also urged security forces to avoid attacking demonstrations of peaceful nature.

He warned that “enemies and their levers” are planning to “plunge the country into internal strife” and bring the country back to the “era of dictatorship” – in an apparent reference to the rule of Saddam Hussein.

Nearly two months of protests have rocked primarily the capital city of Baghdad and southern areas of Iraq.

The protesters have expressed frustration with the failing economy and have demanded political and anti-corruption reforms.

The rallies have, however, turned into violent confrontations on numerous occasions, with reports alleging that certain foreign-backed elements have been seeking to wreak havoc in the country.

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According To Iran News, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Thursday people would be free to exercise their right to demonstrate at imminent anti-government protests, but warned violence would not be tolerated.

Protesters had begun to gather in public squares in Baghdad and southern provinces as Abdul Mahdi made his televised address, ahead of officially sanctioned protests on Friday.

Abdul Mahdi stressed in Thursday’s address that a government collapse would drag Iraq into further turmoil.

“The resignation of the government today without a constitutional alternative, will lead the country into chaos,” he said.

He reiterated reforms announced in the aftermath of the protests, including a cabinet reshuffle, job opportunities for unemployed youth and the establishment of a new court to try corrupt officials.

The premier also announced that government salaries, including for top officials, would be gradually halved, with funds redirected to a social security fund for the country’s poorest.

Abdul-Mahdi has struggled to address discontent since the violent unrest erupted in Baghdad earlier this month and spread to southern cities.

The new wave of the protests are expected to attract large numbers of people after an endorsement by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose coalition won the largest number of seats in Iraq’s parliamentary elections last year.

Iraq’s top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has also called on Baghdad to probe the deaths in the previous round of unrest and address people’s demands.

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“We explained to them that the decision could have negative impacts on Iraq and the entire region, and that such escalation could further disturb the region,” Abdul Mahdi said, Xinhua reported.

“We have told Iran and America that we do not want Iraq to be a field of conflicts,” he added.

Trump administration announced Monday that it is designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization. In response to this unprecedented measure against the military force of another country, the Iranian Supreme National Security Council accused the US government of supporting terrorism and recognized the US Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist organization.

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

It comes right on the heels of President Hassan Rouhani’s trip to Baghdad last month and the two neighbors’ pledge to boost the already flowering trade to $20 billion in two years from $12 billion today.

“The plans to export electricity and gas and hopefully oil continue and we are ready to expand these contacts not only for the two countries but also for other countries in the region,” he said, according to the IRNA news agency.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Abdul-Mahdi on Saturday, President Rouhani said they have discussed ways to carry out all of the bilateral agreements signed during his March visit to Baghdad.

The first agreement that has come into effect was issuing entry visa for the nationals of the two countries free of charge, Rouhani noted, hoping that it would bring the two nations closer together.

He also expressed hope that implementation of an agreement on dredging the Arvand River and another deal on linking the railroad networks of the two countries would begin after the holy month of Ramadan.

“The (Iranian) export of power and gas to Iraq will continue and (export of oil will begin) in future,” the president added.

Hailing the fruitful measures that Iran and Iraq have taken in the past months to boost monetary and banking relations, Rouhani expressed hope that a future visit to Iraq by the governor of the Central Bank of Iran would help accelerate the process.

Last month, Washington gave Iraq a 90-day waiver exempting it from sanctions to buy energy from Iran, the latest extension permitting Baghdad to keep purchasing electricity from its neighbor.

“We hope that our plans to expand trade volume to $20 billion will be realized within the next few months or years,” Rouhani added.

The current level of trade between Iraq and Iran stands at about $12 billion, according to Iranian media.

The two countries maintain robust political and economic relations. Over the past decade and a half, Baghdad has relied considerably on Tehran to fulfill its economic needs by importing food products and other goods.

The Iranian president said he also hoped that work on establishing a railway linking the two neighbors. The project, scheduled to commence in the coming months, was part of an agreement signed during Rouhani’s visit to Baghdad in mid-March.

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“We want to secure Iraq from any interference in issues, affairs of other countries, whether it’s a neighboring country or it’s any other country in the world,” Abdul-Mahdi said, according to Press TV.

Baghdad had earlier called U.S. sanctions on Iran “wrong and unacceptable”. Former Iraqi premier Haider al-Abadi had initially said that his government would only respect the dollar ban in transactions with Iran.

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