Iraq issues arrest warrant for Trump over Soleimani assassination

Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A judge in Iraq has issued an arrest warrant for President Donald Trump for the death of an Iraqi paramilitary commander who was killed last year in a U.S. drone strike assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

The warrant was announced Thursday in a press release from the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq, stating it was issued following the completion of a preliminary investigation into the death of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandiss, the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, that considered statements from the deceased's family.

"The investigation procedures will continue to find out other participates in the implementation of this crime, whether they are Iraqis or foreigners," the statement said.

The warrant was issued under Article 406 of the Iraqi Penal Code. According to a report from the Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Article 406 permits the death penalty as punishment for those convicted of premeditated murder.

Al-Muhandis was killed in a drone strike on the motorcade of Soleimani at the Baghdad airport on Jan. 3, 2020, amid skyrocketing tensions between the United States and Iran.

Trump ordered the strike in retaliation for protesters storming the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad days earlier. The United States blamed Iran for the attack against its facility.

In June, Iranian prosecutors also issued an arrest warrant for Trump and 35 other U.S. officials in connection to the January strike.