Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was the head of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards.
Geneva:
The US drone strike in Iraq in January that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and nine others was a violation of international law, a United Nations human rights investigator said on Monday.
The United States has not provided sufficient evidence of an ongoing or imminent attack on its interests to justify the strike of Soleimani’s convoy as it left Baghdad airport, said Agnès Callamard, special rapporteur for the UN on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
The attack violated the Charter of the United Nations, Callamard wrote in a report calling for accountability for the murders targeted by armed drones and for greater arms regulation.
“The world is at a critical moment, and perhaps a tipping point, when it comes to the use of drones. … The Security Council is absent in action; the international community, willingly or no, stay largely silent, “Callamard, an independent investigator, told Reuters.
Callamard is due to present his findings to the Human Rights Council on Thursday, giving member states the opportunity to debate what action to take. The United States is not a member of the forum, having resigned two years ago.
Soleimani, chief of the Quds Force of the Guardians of the Revolution, played a key role in orchestrating Iran’s campaign to drive the American forces out of Iraq and formed the Iranian network of proxy forces to across the Middle East. Washington had accused Soleimani of orchestrating attacks by militias aligned on Iran against American forces in the region.
“Major General Soleimani was responsible for Iran’s military strategy and actions in Syria and Iraq. But in the absence of a real and imminent threat to life, the course of action for the United States was illegal, “Callamard wrote in the report.
The January 3 drone strike was the first known incident in which a nation invoked self-defense to justify an attack on a state actor in the territory of a third country, said Callamard.
Iran retaliated with a rocket attack on an Iraqi air base where American forces were stationed. A few hours later, Iranian forces on high alert mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner taking off from Tehran.
Iran has issued an arrest warrant against US President Donald Trump and 35 others for the murder of Soleimani and has asked for help from Interpol, Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said on June 29, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
