WarSclerotic

Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday praised Iranian protesters demonstrating against the regime after Tehran admitted shooting down an airliner by mistake, killing all 176 people aboard.

“I note the courage of the Iranian people who are again demonstrating in the streets against this regime. They deserve freedom, liberty and the ability to live in security and peace, all of which the regime denies them,” he said in Hebrew comments at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.

In English, he added, “Iran lied. Just as they lied about their secret nuclear program, they are lying now about the downing of the Ukrainian aircraft. They knew from the start that they had downed it. They knew that it was an unintentional downing, but they lied intentionally. They deceived the entire world.

“This is completely contrary to how a civilized country should act and we send our condolences to the victims of Iran’s deception and negligence,” Netanyahu said.

Iranians expressed horror after the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace division said his unit had shot down the airliner on Wednesday after mistaking it for a cruise missile. The admission followed three days of Iranian officials vociferously denied shooting down the jet, despite mounting evidence.

In response, Iranians in Tehran took to the streets Saturday night to rally against the regime. Protests were also reported in other areas. On Sunday, Iran deployed riot police in the capital expecting possible further protests.

Videos posted to social media showed police firing tear gas at demonstrators chanting against the regime and calling for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the prosecution of those behind the downing of the jet.

Calls included “Death to the dictator,” “Shame on you Khamenei, leave the country,” “Death to the liars,” and “Shame on the Revolutionary Guards, let the country go.”

Netanyahu’s comments came hours after US President Donald Trump told Iranian protesters that he supported them and warned the regime against cracking down on the demonstrations.

“The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people,” Trump tweeted in English and Farsi.

“There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching,” Trump added, referring to an internet blackout that blanketed the country during widespread protests in November.

“To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I’ve stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you,” Trump tweeted.

“We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage,” he said.

In addition to his comments supporting the protesters, Netanyahu reiterated praise of Trump after the White House announced a new wave of sanctions on Iran following the missile strikes by the Islamic Republic on US bases that came in retaliation for the US drone strike killing Revolutionary Guard general Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s most powerful military commander.

“I commend President Trump for imposing new and very harsh sanctions against this regime,” Netanyahu said.

“I call on Britain, France and Germany to join the American effort. They need to go to the Security Council, and there they need to activate the sanctions that have been decided upon. I would like to reiterate: Israel will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.”

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s caretaker prime minister asked Washington to start working out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, but the US State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to “recommit” to their partnership.

Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in the capital and southern Iraq, many calling on both Iran and America to leave Iraq, reflecting anger and frustration over the two rivals — both Baghdad’s allies — trading blows on Iraqi soil.

The request from Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi pointed to his determination to push ahead with demands for US troops to leave Iraq, stoked by the American drone strike on Jan. 3 that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In a phone call Thursday night, he told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that recent US strikes in Iraq were an unacceptable breach of Iraqi sovereignty and a violation of their security agreements, his office said.

He asked Pompeo to “send delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism” to carry out the Iraqi Parliament’s resolution on withdrawing foreign troops, according to the statement.

“The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities, and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements,” the statement added.

In this May 15, 2019 file photo, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara, Turkey (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)

Abdul-Mahdi signaled he was standing by the push for the American forces to go despite recent signs of de-escalation between Tehran and Washington after Iran retaliated for Soleimani’s death with a barrage of missiles that hit two Iraqi bases where US troops are based but caused no casualties.

Iraqis have felt furious and helpless at being caught in the middle of fighting between Baghdad’s two closest allies. Abdul-Mahdi has said he rejects all violations of Iraqi sovereignty, including both the Iranian and US strikes.

On Friday, the US State Department flatly dismissed the request. It said the presence of US troops was crucial for the fight against the Islamic State group and it would not discuss removing them.

“Any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership — not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East,” said spokesperson Morgan Ortagus.

“We want to be a friend and partner to a sovereign, prosperous, and stable Iraq,” she added.

Iraqi lawmakers passed a resolution Sunday to oust US troops, following the Jan. 3 US drone strike that killed Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad’s airport. The nonbinding vote put the responsibility on the government to formally request a withdrawal. Abdul-Mahdi, addressing lawmakers at the time, called for “urgent measures” to ensure the removal of the troops.

A child with the colors of the Iraqi flag on his face during ongoing protests in Tahrir square, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Speaking to Pompeo, Abdul-Mahdi stopped short of requesting an immediate withdrawal and appeared to give the US time to draw up a strategy and timeline for departure.

In its initial readout of the call, the State Department made no mention of Abdul-Mahdi’s request on the troops. It said Pompeo initiated the call and reiterated the US condemnation of the Iranian missile strikes on the two bases, underscoring that President Donald Trump “has said the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests.”

There are some 5,200 US troops in Iraq assisting and providing training to Iraqi security counter-parts to fight the Islamic State group. An American pullout could deeply set back efforts to crush remnants of the group amid concerns of a resurgence amid the political turmoil.

Top American military officials including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, have said there were no plans for the US to withdraw.

Ortagus also said the State Department was in talks with NATO to increase its role in Iraq. Trump has invited NATO to play a larger role in the Middle East.

US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington, June 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

“Today, a NATO delegation is at the State Department to discuss increasing NATO’s role in Iraq, in line with the president’s desire for burden sharing in all of our collective defense efforts,” the statement said. “There does, however, need to be a conversation between the US and Iraqi governments not just regarding security, but about our financial, economic, and diplomatic partnership.”

Ortagus did not elaborate. Iraq is highly dependent on Iran sanctions waivers from Washington to continue importing Iranian gas to meet electricity demands, and the US has consistently used this as leverage in the past. The current waiver expires in February, and without a new one, Iraq could face severe penalties.

Still, the demand for withdrawal is not universal. Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers oppose the Parliament resolution. The Sunnis see the US presence as a bulwark against domination by the majority Shiites and Iran, while the Kurdish security forces had benefited from American training and aid.

The latest escalation between Tehran and Washington on Iraqi soil was set off when a rocket attack blamed on the Iranian-backed militia group Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, caused the death of an American contractor at a base in Kirkuk province in late December. The US replied with a barrage of strikes on the militia’s bases, killing at least 25 people.

Protesters lambasted the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Iraq, the US and Iran in mass protests across the capital and southern provinces.

Thousands massed in Baghdad’s Tahrir square, the epicenter of the protest movement, and many chanted “Damn Iran and America!” Large demonstrations were also held in southern provinces of Basra, Dhi Qar, Najaf and Diwanieh, as anti-government protesters sought to recover momentum following the regional tensions that overshadowed their uprising.

An anti government protester flies an Iraqi flag on top of cement blocks that separate protesters from riot police, during the ongoing protests in Tahrir square, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged rival Iraqi political factions to unite and put private interests aside, saying their attempts to outbid each other in the political process had led to the current crisis and risked creating more unrest.

Rival political factions have yet to agree on a nominee to replace the outgoing Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned in December under pressure from the protesters.

“The serious attacks and repeated violations of Iraqi sovereignty that occurred in recent days with the apparent weakness of the concerned authorities in protecting the country and its people … are part of the repercussions of the current crisis,” al-Sistani said.

“Everyone is required to think carefully about what this situation will lead to if there is no end to it,” he added.

AP — The US military tried, but failed, to take out another senior Iranian commander on the same day that an American airstrike killed the Revolutionary Guard’s top general, US officials said Friday.

The officials said a military airstrike by special operations forces targeted Abdul Reza Shahlai, a high-ranking commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps but the mission was not successful. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a classified mission.

Officials said both Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Shahlai were on approved military targeting lists, which indicates a deliberate effort by the US to cripple the leadership of Iran’s Quds force, which has been designated a terror organization by the US. Officials would not say how the mission failed.

A US drone strike on January 3 killed Soleimani shortly after he landed at Baghdad International Airport. Trump administration officials have justified the killing as an act of self-defense, saying he was planning military acts that threatened large numbers of American military and diplomatic officials in the Middle East.

Iran, however, called the airstrike an act of terrorism, and on January 8 it launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq that house American and coalition forces. No one was killed in that retaliation.

The US State Department offered a reward of $15 million early last month for information leading to the disruption of the Revolutionary Guards’ finances, including for Shahlai, a key financier in the organization. The US State Department said he “has a long history of targeting Americans and U.S. allies globally,” and planned multiple assassinations of coalition forces in Iraq.

It added that his activities included providing weapons and explosives to Shi’ite militia groups and directing a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, DC, in 2011.

The Pentagon declined to discuss the highly-classified operation.

“We have seen the report of a January 2 airstrike in Yemen, which is long-understood as a safe space for terrorists and other adversaries to the United States. The Department of Defense does not discuss alleged operations in the region,” said Navy Commander Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The Washington Post first reported the development.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.