IRGC Quds Force Commander Visits Iraq

According to ashoora reporting from Farsnews:

The Arabic-language al-Alam news channel reported on Wednesday that General Qa’ani has traveled to Iraq to discuss ways to further develop mutual cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad in meetings with the Iraqi officials.

Qa'ani had also paid a visit to Iraq few weeks ago. Early in December Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi was quoted by al-Alam as saying that General Qa’ani had met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, President Barham Salih and a number of other Iraqi officials during his recent visit to Iraq.

He said that Iran’s measures in Iraq are adopted within the framework of efforts to strengthen the Iraqi government and persuade the country’s political streams to grow more integrated, adding that Tehran does not interfere in the internal affairs of the parties and fractions in Iraq and they enjoy positive ties with Tehran.

Masjedi referred to the US threats against the resistance groups in Iraq, and said, “If they act against the resistance groups, they will definitely receive a response.”

General Qaani had also in April visited Baghdad to reaffirm Iran's continued supportive stance towards Iraq in its fight against terrorism after martyrdom of former IRGC Quds Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

Lieutenant General Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike on Baghdad International Airport in Iraq on January 3, 2020.

The airstrike also martyred deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The two were martyred in an American airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport.

Five Iranian and five Iraqi military men were martyred by the missiles fired by the US drone at Baghdad International Airport.

On January 8 and after the funeral ceremony of General Soleimani, the IRGC Aerospace Force started heavy ballistic missile attacks on US Ein Al-Assad airbase in Southwestern Iraq near the border with Syria and a US operated airbase in Erbil in retaliation for the US assassination of General Soleimani.