Iraq’s judicial chief highlighted the arrest warrant for Trump in the killing of Soleimani

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Iraqs Supreme Judicial Council reissued an arrest warrant for former US President Donald Trump on Thursday in connection with the 2020 assassination of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and the head of the Iraqi militia.

The president of the council, Faiq Zidan, said that Trump is wanted for his crime related to the killing of the leaders of victory” and said that an arrest warrant had been issued. He made the statements in front of a photo of Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the former leader of the Iranian-backed Kitaib Hezbollah militia in Iraq.

The court will not hesitate to take legal action, Zidan said, as reported by the official Iraqi Media Network.

Soleimani and Muhandis were killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3, 2020. Trump ordered the attack in response to Iranian-backed militia supporters storming the US Embassy in Baghdad in recent days, as well as attacks on US military forces in Iraq in 2019.

Iraqi officials including Zidan and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani attended a commemoration of the deaths of Soleimani and Muhandis on Thursday. Sudani said their deaths should not be in vain, Kurdish Iraqi news outlet Rudaw reported.

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council issued a warrant for Trump in 2021 for killing Soleimani. It was unclear whether Zidan’s remarks on Thursday signaled new legal action or a repeat of the 2021 warrant. Zidan did not immediately respond to Al-Monitors’ request for further details.

Iraqi authorities are unlikely to arrest Trump. World leaders have historically been tried in local courts within their countries or by international tribunals. The Hague-based International Criminal Court, aka ICC, has held legal proceedings against world leaders in the past, such as former Sudanese ruler Omar Bashir.

Why it matters: The US government has poured trillions of dollars into Iraq since it invaded the country in 2003 and ousted longtime leader Saddam Hussein. The United States and Iraq are cooperating in the fight against Islamic State and have diplomatic relations, but the killing of Soleimani remains a sore point between the two countries.

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have planned protests this week for the third anniversary of Soleimanis death.

Much of Iraq’s current leadership is made up of politicians aligned with Iran. Many Iraqi civilians, however, rejoiced when Soleimani was killed. Iran-backed militias are unpopular with some Iraqis.

Learn more: The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to pursue the case of American responsibility for Soleimanis death. This week, Iran’s judiciary said it had identified 94 US citizens allegedly involved in the killing.

Editor’s note: this article has been updated to clarify that Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council first issued a warrant for Trump in 2021.

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