https://arab.news/9uhvm
- Demonstrators joined the open Zoom event meant to commemorate the Iranian commander, but instead chanted 鈥渕urder Soleimani鈥�
- The protest forced organisers to end the event halfway through the commemoration ceremony
LONDON: A virtual memorial held by the Iranian embassy in Turkey to mark one year since the killing of Qassem Soleimani was disrupted by dozens of protesters on Saturday.
Demonstrators joined the open Zoom event meant to commemorate the Iranian commander, but instead chanted 鈥渕urder Soleimani.鈥�
They also changed their names and images to a placard stating: 鈥淚ran is a murderer.鈥�
The protest forced organisers to end the event halfway through the commemoration ceremony.
The memorial was attended by both Iranian and Turkish officials.
Last year, a US drone strike near Baghdad airport killed Soleimani, the man considered Iran鈥檚 most powerful military figure.
He headed the elite Quds Force - the wing of Iran鈥檚 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responsible for foreign operations. He frequently shuttled between Iraq, Lebanon and Syria to oversee Iran鈥檚 foreign militias.
His assassination dramatically ratcheted up tensions in the region and brought the US and Iran to the brink of war.
Days after the killing, Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at two US bases in Iraq, leaving more than 100 US soldiers with traumatic brain injuries.
Top Iranian officials have constantly threatened further 鈥渉arsh revenge鈥� for the killing of Soleimani.
In September, the IRGC鈥檚 commander Major-General Hossein Salami doubled down on the threat.