Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Iran Vows "Harsh Revenge" for U.S. Killing of Top Commander; Australian Prime Minister Ramps Up Defense Response as Fires Intensify. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired January 04, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us around the world. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
If you want to see just how high feelings are running in Iraq right now, the mourning, the anger, look at these images coming to us from Baghdad. Streets of the capital nearly filled with a funeral procession for those killed in Friday's U.S. strike at the Baghdad airport.
Among them Iran's top military commander Qasem Soleimani, who will be buried in Iran. Now let's be clear not everyone in Iraq is mourning his death. But even among those who hated what he stood for, who resented Iranian interference in their country, there is outrage over an attack by an outside power carried out on Iraqi soil.
Earlier we heard U.S. president Trump justify the operation, saying he acted before Soleimani could carry out more attacks against Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Last night at my direction the United States military executed a flawless strike that terminated the terrorist ringleader responsible for gravely wounding thousands and thousands of people and hundreds and hundreds at least of Americans. He was planning a very major attack and we got him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That has Iran promising it will strike back when and where it chooses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJID TAKHT-RAVANCHI, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Iran will act based on its own choosing. And the time, the place will be decided later on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Jomana Karadsheh is in Baghdad, where Soleimani's funeral is about to begin, at least the processions. And in Beirut, Nick Paton Walsh will take a look at the potential Iranian response, what they were planning and what could be next.
Oren Liebermann is along the Israel-Lebanon border. Ramin Mostaghim is on the ground in Tehran. And Matthew Chance is in Moscow, as Russia warns that the killing is, quote, "short-sighted." And Nic Robertson in Riyadh will tell us how allies in the region are reacting.
We'll begin in the Iraqi capital where a funeral procession is now underway. Tell us what we are seeing and what the atmosphere is.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, we're seeing live pictures on various Iraqi channels not just from Baghdad but also from the holy cities in the south. Thousands of people are pouring into the streets. Also outside the holy shrines in the southern cities, awaiting the arrival of the remains of the 10 people killed in that U.S. strike.
That includes, of course, Qasem Soleimani and also the top commander here, one of the highest ranking commanders within that Iranian-backed paramilitary force, Hashd al-Shaabi, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
And, you know, we've seen these emotional scenes playing out live on television. You've had men, women turning up to mourn the death of these men that they consider to be heroes and martyrs.
These are men with a great following here of young militia men, who they commanded, who they led in the battlefield on the front lines in the fight against ISIS. And today they are out there.
They are angry, they are very emotional. We have seen many crying. You see many chanting, such anger. Now we expect Iraqi officials to also attend this funeral procession that is taking place in Baghdad.
[03:05:00]
KARADSHEH: And this is coming at a time, Becky, of course, when the Iraqi government, the political leadership here is under a lot of pressure to stand up to the United States because no matter how people here feel about Iran, about Qasem Soleimani, about Iranian influence in this country, one thing unifies them all.
And that is their stance against the -- what they see as this violation of Iraqi sovereignty, with the United States carrying out this unprecedented targeted strike here. A lot of concern. The situation is very tense. People would tell you they are very, very concerned about where this is all headed -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Jomana Karadsheh is in Baghdad. And as we sit on these images out of Baghdad, the funeral procession, Nick Paton Walsh standing by in Beirut. He's been digging into why the U.S. decided to kill Soleimani now. Nick, there are likely to have been opportunities in the past for the
U.S. to target Iran's military chief.
They didn't, so why now?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, clearly they publicly say that the case was indisputable, that they could not abide taking the risk of allowing him to continue with the plans they say were imminent against U.S. assets in the region here.
Now they won't really go into exactly the level of detail, these U.S. officials, who have been briefing on this topic about where the plots precisely were aimed, how lethal they were.
A senior State Department official said they were concerned about attacks potentially in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon against U.S. diplomatic and military personnel. Now in Syria they really only have military personnel and in here in Lebanon they really only have a diplomatic presence at the embassy in Beirut.
So you get a possible idea as to what may have been the focus here in Lebanon, certainly. But there's a big amount the U.S. simply won't say and that is the level of detail they were in and also answering the question as to what the death of Qasem Soleimani would have done to executing these plans.
You may also argue they're advanced enough to be able to perform without Qasem Soleimani being around to actually pull the trigger himself. Clearly a calculation was made that the U.S. interests in the region are better served with the death of a very high profile death and still shadowy man like Qasem Soleimani.
He was well-known but also somebody who operated as much off the radar as he could. He would sort of turn up on Instagram as something as a hero. Many perhaps thinking that he believed he was maybe immune to some sort of response.
As you pointed out previous administrations have turned down the opportunity to kill him, particularly when he was directing elements of the insurgency or assisting them technologically in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The belief I think the U.S. had too many troops vulnerable to sustained Iranian retaliation on the ground nearly 10 years ago. And now the Obama administration sought a nuclear deal with Iran so killing Iran's military commander would have made problems for that diplomatic channel.
Why now?
They say very clearly in Washington there was an imminent threat and it was impeded or perhaps neutralized and we'll see in the days and weeks ahead if that's true and presumably worked out whatever retaliation Iran can put on the table.
It will probably be similar to the damage already being done to the U.S.' sense of vulnerability and ability to protect its allies in the Middle East we've seen over the past months by a series of attacks, over 10 of them, followed up by the pressure and onslaught against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
It has been consistent, relentless over the past month. So some may argue deciding to take out the man they consider responsible for all of this isn't that much of a surprise. I think it's possibly more testament to how Qasem Soleimani became such an influential figure, the outsized executer of Iran's outsized influence in this region that many aren't quite so startled that this move was taken by the Trump administration.
ANDERSON: Nick, thank you. Nick's in Beirut.
[03:10:00]
ANDERSON: I want to get you to Saudi Arabia because Nick clearly pointing out that part of the influence of this man, allegedly the attack on the Aramco facilities. Nic Robertson is standing by in Riyadh.
The U.S. says their intelligence suggested imminent attacks led by Soleimani on U.S. assets in Iraq, Syria and in Lebanon led to the decision to take out Soleimani. But concern, now, across the region about what happens next, what Iran's response might be, where and when.
What's the perspective where you are?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the perspective here is that they've long said that they believe that Tehran, Soleimani had been a destabilizing influence, raising tensions, committing terrorist acts throughout the region.
They've seen Tehran's hand backing the Houthis in Yemen with long- range sophisticated weapons. And those weapons have targeted the capital here in Riyadh. They've been fired at the airport; no one's been killed. They've landed in the desert or been shot down.
And the Saudis will obviously point to the targeting of that oil facility, two oil facilities in September last year. Very clearly they believe the complex attack using drones and missiles came from Iran, was of Iranian origin.
So they would recognize that they are potentially a target. They would certainly recognize that there's a potential for an escalation of a conflict in the region here that they could get caught up in.
But they would certainly be behind the United States and they certainly say they are and have said in the past that they support the United States in its view on Iran. That's been very important to them.
But they will recognize and this is what they're saying that it's important not to escalate at the moment. They can themselves become the victims if it escalates. And they certainly want to see Iran change its course.
So you know, these are not mutually exclusive but they certainly raise concern at the time of the killing of Soleimani and obviously Iran's hand can reach a much greater distance and they can wait a great deal of time before they actually sort of even the score, if you will.
Just point out that in 1998 when the U.S.S. Vincennes in the Persian Gulf accidently shot down an Iranian passenger jet, it killed more than 200 people. The Iranians waited nine months before putting a pipe bomb underneath the car of the captain in San Diego and the pipe bomb went off and narrowly missed injuring his wife.
So you know, how Iran will respond can range that whole gamut, of waiting for a pinprick strike thousands of miles away or heading out to U.S. allies in the immediate vicinity in the region.
ANDERSON: Nick is in Riyadh for you, appreciate it, Nick.
Our correspondents standing by in a region on high alert. We take you to Tehran next as our breaking news coverage continues. The latest on how the country is reacting to the U.S. strike on their top commander. That as funeral processions are well underway in Baghdad for Qasem Soleimani and those who lost their lives in the U.S. strike Friday. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The Islamic Republic of Iran holds this right to respond anytime and in any manner at will. We will not be involved in the U.S.' smear campaigns and their blackmailing. We will give a proper response in any manner and time we will as stated by the supreme leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Iran's foreign minister there on the country's vow to respond to the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani.
Another Iranian official calls it an act of war but U.S. president Donald Trump insists that war is not the goal and he says that Soleimani was planning a, quote, "very major attack," which he says was why he was neutralized.
Ramin Mostaghim joins us now from Tehran.
Reviled in the U.S. and it has to be said not just by the Trump administration, by many in the West. Qasem Soleimani was revered by many in Iran. Why?
RAMIN MOSTAGHIM, "L.A. TIMES": Indeed. He's a national celebrity for different blocks of society.
Why?
Because he has been portrayed as a hero fighting daish, ISIS in Iran. For the middle class it is ideal (ph). Does important things for the bigger class in Iran, so he is a hero who has fought with daish in Iraq, in Syria, in the region.
So that is the reason he's a hero as a national celebrity for even secular blocks of society. On the other hand, he is very close to the supreme leader. He's a soldier of the theocracy and he's admired, adored by the conservative blocks of society, the grassroots.
So now whatever is the motivation of these assassinations in Baghdad, his assassination has played out a role to unify two competing factions in Iran, so-called hardliners. So he is playing in post-his assassinations as a unifying factor, a blessing disguised for Iran.
[03:20:00]
MOSTAGHIM: So this is very important factor. In fact, the morning service is playing as a consolidatory role to consolidate, strengthen the theocracy in Iran.
ANDERSON: I'm sure these image of his funeral procession in Iraq today being broadcast in Iran as we look also at images post this attack on killing Soleimani, where we saw the burning of American flags and Israeli flags in Iran. Tehran very quick to name a successor.
Who is he and how might his influence be any different from Soleimani's?
MOSTAGHIM: He is not going to be different. He is following the same path as Soleimani has followed in the past three decades. He has been acting commander so far, so he's well experienced. He has been deputy acting commander and he's not going to be different. And the agenda is the same as it was for Soleimani.
So we can say that God's division (ph) will act as used to do.
ANDERSON: What can we expect from the funeral services finally, which will be held for Soleimani once his body is returned to Iran on Sunday?
MOSTAGHIM: Very good questions. Now I can say in a metaphoric language that Iran is in the fog of the morning, sort of wrapped up in the shroud of the morning service. And it serves the purposes of the theocracy because this society is not going to forget him.
So he will be commemorated on different occasions. His picture is in the cities probably we will do that, I mean in the coming hours, his picture is everywhere. And so this morning is not going to be finished tomorrow, the day after tomorrow.
He will be commemorated and his morning service will serve as -- I mean, a fortifying factor of the theocracy. And it is a very good opportunity for his supporters to show their power, to flex their muscles and unify themselves and use for all problems, domestic problems. So it's very good for the people to remember him and is used as a panacea for all domestic problems.
So it's very good for the people to remember him and he will be remembered for months and years to come -- Becky.
ANDERSON: The perspective from Tehran, Ramin, thank you.
As tensions flare between the United States and Iran, the U.S. is deploying thousands more troops to this region of the Middle East. CNN's Barbara Starr has new details on what led to President Trump ordering the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's top military adviser, General Mark Milley says, that he cannot rule out an attack from Iran could still occur.
When compelling intelligence in recent days showed Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander, planned to attack U.S. targets in the Middle East, the Trump administration made the decision to kill him, according to Milley.
The U.S. decided to act because of the size, scale and scope of the planning by Soleimani, Milley said.
Is there a risk, now, to U.S. safety in the region?
"Damn right there is risk," Milley told reporters.
But to deal with that risk, the U.S. has stepped up its defenses and plans to send thousands of additional troops to the Middle East. The additional forces will come from the 82nd Airborne Division that had been on standby. Other U.S. forces in Italy also now on alert.
New video is showing the bloody aftermath of the U.S. drone strike near Baghdad's airport. U.S. intelligence learned that Soleimani was planning specific attacks on U.S. interests in multiple countries, including U.S. personnel, a congressional source, briefed by the Trump administration, tells CNN.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper and the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, flew to Mar-a-lago on Sunday to brief Trump on the intelligence.
[03:25:00]
STARR (voice-over): When the U.S. learned Soleimani was in Baghdad, President Trump decided to order the attack, despite concerns by some in the administration about potential Iranian escalation.
These images obtained by CNN, showing the wreckage of the targeted killing. Pompeo telling CNN, the strike saved American lives.
POMPEO: There was in fact an imminent attack taking place. The American people should know that this was an intelligence-based assessment that drove this.
STARR (voice-over): But that explanation differs from the Defense Department. The Pentagon saying in a statement this strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.
The State Department urging any U.S. citizens in Iraq to depart immediately. U.S. embassies in Bahrain, Kuwait and Pakistan all issuing security alerts. As Iran's supreme leader warns, harsh revenge awaits the criminals involved in the targeted killing, Iran's foreign minister claiming Soleimani's death will have consequences.
The Trump administration touting the celebrations by some Iraqis at the news.
POMPEO: I saw last night there was dancing in the streets in parts of Iraq. We have every expectation that people not only in Iraq but in Iran will view the American action last night as giving them freedom.
STARR (voice-over): While Iranians, instead, took to the streets in protest -- Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, do stay with us as we watch these remarkable images on the streets of Baghdad, thronged with people honoring Iran's top military commander in a funeral procession. He was killed along with others in a U.S. strike.
And these the images of those streets of Baghdad, the funeral procession for Qasem Soleimani. We will head to Moscow for reaction from an Iranian ally, Russia, after this short break. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
ANDERSON: Well, welcome back. Let's get you up to speed on our breaking news this hour.
Funeral processions now underway for victims of the U.S. strike on Baghdad International Airport on Friday. One of those victims is Iran's top military commander, Qasem Soleimani.
U.S. president Donald Trump says he directed the strike because Soleimani was plotting a major attack. Iran vowing revenge for what it calls an act of war. Let's get you to Moscow now for some perspective on all this. Matthew Chance monitoring reaction from Russia.
And Soleimani's death might in some way strengthen Russia's position in the region, your thoughts.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that's a good point but I think it's only a temporary advantage, amongst a few other temporary advantages.
Look, the death of Soleimani is a blow to Iran's influence in places like Syria, for instance, where he was basically the point man on the ground. The Russians knew him very well. They would have coordinated with him when it came to sort of policy on the ground in Syria where, of course, Russia is fighting to back its ally, Bashar al-Assad on the same side as Iranian and Iranian backed forces.
So his departure from the scene does leave a bit of a vacuum at least temporarily, which the Russians may want to take advantage of.
There was also a spike in the oil price as a result of this targeted killing as well, which was a windfall for Russian coffers but one of the biggest operatives in the world but all of these sort of temporary averages have got to be balanced with the sort of long-term prospect of the raised risk of the direct confrontation between Iran and the United States.
That's something Russia does not want to see. It does not want to see the relatively pro-Russian regime in Tehran toppled and replaced by a pro-American one. It's seen it in other countries in the region, doesn't want to see it in Iran.
ANDERSON: Matthew's in Moscow. Appreciate that. That's great analysis.
CNN's Oren Liebermann is strategically at the Iranian-Lebanese border with more on the potential fallout.
And with very little insight into what might happen next from either the U.S. or Iranian side, what chance that Iran's, quote, "revenge" could be a strike on its nemesis and U.S. ally, Israel?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's certainly possible. Tensions between Israel and Iran are always high and we often see that in terms of tension along the Israel-Lebanon border where just behind me here is essentially the stronghold of Iranian proxy Hezbollah.
And that's what we're watching and that's certainly what Israel is watching at this point. It has to be noted there are no restrictions or limitations on Israeli civilians along Israel and the border here.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short his trip to Greece to come back here. The security establishment here held a security assessment, where they had not only the IDF chief of staff but also the head of Mossad.
So this is something they're aware of and it doesn't have to be necessarily on its border. Iran could be using its proxies to strike from Syria. Iran also has influence in Gaza so it could come there or overseas where Iran could target embassies or consulates abroad.
Local media here saying embassies and consulates abroad have upped their alert level, anticipating possibility of a response in that direction. Israel saw Soleimani as public enemy number one, as responsible for the strategic placement, the aggression, the expansionism of Iranian proxies in Syria and beyond.
For him, for Israel, this is something that has been nearly universally lauded across the political spectrum here. Netanyahu and many others have thrown their support behind Trump.
And there is some speculation and interesting to talk about, the secretary of state Pompeo gave Netanyahu a heads-up a strike might be imminent.
Why do I say that?
[03:35:00]
LIEBERMANN: The two spoke earlier this week and a day later Netanyahu said, this is a stormy region, very dramatic things are happening and he concluded his statement by saying Israel backs the U.S. and gives it the right to defend itself.
Virtually identical to the statement Netanyahu made after the killing of Soleimani, where he says, just like Israel has the right to defend itself, the U.S. has the right to defend itself. There's been no word on that speculation from the prime minister's office or by other officials.
ANDERSON: That's fascinating, particularly given Democrats slamming the U.S. administration for not giving them the heads up ahead of the U.S. strikes Friday in Baghdad. Oren Liebermann on the Israeli- Lebanese border, thank you.
More of our breaking news just ahead. We are talking U.S. strike in Baghdad. A top U.S. senator weighing in on President Trump's decision.
Plus we will be live for you in Australia as that country braces for what is predicted to be the most catastrophic day yet of this bush fire season. That after this.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: Well, the streets of Baghdad jammed right now as funerals for those killed in the U.S. strike on Friday get underway. Have a look at these.
Among the dead, top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. U.S. president Donald Trump says he was killed to prevent an imminent attack on Americans. Much of the U.S. Congress kept in the dark about the attack. Republican senator Lindsey Graham, though, was not. Here's what he had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I was briefed about the potential operation when I was down in Florida. I appreciate being brought into the orbit. I really appreciate President Trump letting the world know you cannot kill an American without impunity. We will stand up for our people and that is an absolutely essential message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:40:00]
ANDERSON: That's Lindsey Graham. Not all U.S. lawmakers agree, though, that the strike was necessary to save American lives. Some Democrats voicing doubts that an attack was actually imminent. Well, more on that in a moment.
But in Atlanta, I want to move away from this coverage just for the moment to check in on another story we are keeping an extremely close eye on, that being the bush fires in Australia.
Natalie, what have you got?
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Becky.
Three fires in Australia, southern Australia have now combined to form a single fire. Get this, bigger than the New York borough of Manhattan. The country is bracing for what could be the most catastrophic day yet this bush fire season.
The prime minister has announced he's mobilizing the navy's largest ship to evacuate people along the southeast coastline. Let's bring in now our Anna Coren, who is live, to bring us more about it.
Anna, it keeps getting worse and worse.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been absolutely horrific, although we must say, Natalie, we seemed to have escaped those catastrophic conditions everyone had forecast.
We are here with volunteers, firefighters who have been out there fighting fires all day. They've just come off their shifts and they're exhausted. They've been doing this for weeks.
We have to remember the fires have been burning now --
(AUDIO GAP)
COREN: But we heard from the prime minister today, the death toll stands at 23 nationwide, more than 1,500 homes have been lost. However, he did today say that 3,000 forces, members of the Australian defense force have joined.
They've got planes that they're going to be water bombing as well as the largest naval vessel will be used to evacuate people. Now joining me now is Jesse White (ph). He is the captain here at the
Brownlie (ph) Rural Fire Service.
Tell me what your day was like.
(AUDIO GAP)
JESSE WHITE (PH), BROWNLIE (PH) RURAL FIRE SERVICE: Luckily for us it didn't get to that extreme today. So we're pretty fortunate.
ALLEN: Well, we're having trouble with Anna's live shot, unfortunately.
(WEATHER REPORT)
[03:45:00]
ALLEN: Well, coming up here we head back to the Middle East for more of the fallout from the killing of Iran's top general. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: Well, mourners have been gathering in the Iraqi capital for the victims of the U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. Among those killed were the Quds Force commander, Qasem Soleimani. He's viewed as a national hero in Iran.
The U.S., though, didn't see him that way. President Donald Trump says Soleimani was plotting a major attack. He says he wanted to prevent a war, not start one. But the strike has dramatically escalated tensions. Iran now vowing harsh revenge and the United States is sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East.
Well, earlier on "AC360," my colleague, Anderson Cooper, sat down with Leon Panetta, White House chief of staff during the Clinton administration and also former U.S. Secretary of Defense and former head of the CIA.
[03:50:00]
ANDERSON: He's been privy to some of the most sensitive information regarding threat assessments as anyone in Washington. And he says the chances for war are more serious now than they have been in decades. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: There's no question he's a bad actor and he was involved in those kinds of attacks. I guess, you know, the question you have to ask yourself -- and that's why I said, look, we shouldn't mourn the fact that he died. But the real question that I think everyone has to ask is whether or
not we have increased the chances of war with Iran as a result of what happened.
And I don't think there's any question that the chances for war are more serious now than they have been in the last 40 years that we could ultimately escalate what's happening now into a full-scale war with Iran. That is the fundamental issue that all of us ought to worry about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Leon Panetta speaking to my colleague, Anderson Cooper. My next guest is as well versed as anyone about this region and beyond. She says General Soleimani's killing will have a long lasting impact across the Middle East region, nowhere more than in Iraq.
Mina Al-Oraibi is the editor-in-chief at "The National," she joins me here in Abu Dhabi.
Your thoughts on these images we're seeing out of Baghdad, throngs of people on the streets of the city in this funeral procession.
MINA AL-ORAIBI, "THE NATIONAL": So the funeral procession more than anything is to show a show of force. Militia leaders were calling on their supporters, calling on all Iraqis to take to the streets and show their support not only for Soleimani but Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was the deputy leader of all the militias in Iraq, who was also killed in the airstrike that took place in the airport.
So the funeral procession is to show that they can own the streets. Interestingly, none of the senior militia officials can be seen and it's expected they've gone underground now because they're worried about more assassination strikes.
It's interesting to see these images from Baghdad because, from the first of October what we've seen is peaceful civic activists, taking to the streets of Baghdad, demanding changes in Iraq and against those very militias that are now owning the streets.
So we really see a tug-of-war coming to the streets now on who can claim to own Baghdad politically but also trying to show they are the majority.
And we've seen those peaceful protesters take themselves out of the picture for now because they're scared. These militias are armed to the teeth. They have guns, they have money, they have been responsible for assassinations and kidnapping.
And they're angry. So the hope is there's no actual clashes on the streets today.
ANDERSON: Mohammad Ali Shabani writes in "The Guardian," I'm going to quote him here.
"Soleimani may with his death have already achieved the greatest revenge of all and without firing a single bullet, namely his ultimate objective of ending the U.S. military presence in Iraq."
I wonder whether you agree with what Mohammad says and indeed give us your perspective on what does happen next in Iraq.
AL-ORAIBI: The reason that Qasem Soleimani's death is so important is because of his seniority but also his relationship with all different militia groupings. Talk about Iraq, his relationship with those militias goes back decades but also was one of loyalty to him and to the Iranian regime.
And so now Iran is calling on all its supporters, all those militia leaders that entered parliament because of Iranian support, calling on them to call for the expulsion of American troops.
Now the caretaker prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has called for parliament to convene and called for legislation to push Americans out. And now it's all the back channel politicking of will they actually vote to get the Americans out or not?
The Kurds are in a bind. There are many Shia, Iraqi Islamist groups who don't want to see Americans go out and see Iran take over the country. So it's not resolved, we don't know.
Personally it's hard to make predictions but I would find it very hard to believe that the Americans are going to pick up and leave. This strike and the increased Marines that have been sent to Iraq show America's not ready to leave yet.
ANDERSON: The offer of Iran refrained, Narges Bajoghli wrote in "The New York Times" op-ed, "General Soleimani's influence will survive him. In fact, it may have suddenly grown significantly."
Do you agree?
How will his death impact do you think Iranian influence not just in Iraq -- and we already have a successor named, whose influence it seems will be similar if not greater.
But around the region as well. We sit here in the UAE.
[03:55:00]
ANDERSON: This is a country that's been on high alert now for some time and we've seen malign behavior from the Iranians, most people will say enacted by Soleimani himself, specifically around this region. We sit in such close geographic proximity to Iran.
So what happens next?
AL-ORAIBI: I don't think Qasem Soleimani's influence will grow. For the moment he's seen as a martyr and he'll be added to the names of others who were larger than life and they created a personality cult in order to wield their influence. So I don't think his influence will grow.
But for sure we'll see how effective the IRCG is and how the effective the Quds Force is, which he led. His successor was involved in affecting and helped the brigades that fought not only in Syria but had ambitions to fight in Yemen and other parts of the region.
So Iran is on the back foot for a moment because this was a surprise attack. Nobody expected this. When Iranians struck Aramco last September, no one expected that. And the reaction from Saudi Arabia, from the Gulf was very muted and was very rational and that stopped us from going to the brink of war.
In September we were talking about the possibility of does this become a point of collision?
I believe now it depends on how the Iranians do. If they escalate they know the U.S. administration can retaliate just as high. They may choose to calm down for the moment and take their revenge in a longer time.
ANDERSON: Well, they certainly vowed revenge. When and how is unclear. Let's hope your insight, your perspective is right and that we -- you know, we don't see the sort of escalation of people who live in this region, you and I, even around this region fear.
Thanks for watching our special coverage of the fallout surrounding the killing of Iran's top general. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. We'll be right back with another hour of coverage here on CNN, as you would expect. Stay with us.
