The Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq issued a warrant on Thursday for the arrest of US President Donald Trump over the killing of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Iraqi deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, who was killed one year ago alongside Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani. 

Death Penalty if Trump is Arrested

The arrest warrant, issued under Article 406 of Iraq’s penal code, was for a charge of premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty on conviction. 

Muhandis was designated as a terrorist by the US and the United Arab Emirates and the 25,000 strong militia he commanded is designated a terrorist organization. 

Iran also has an arrest warrant out for Trump in relation to Soleimani’s death, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Monday.

On January 3, 2020, the US carried out a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport when Soleimani was purportedly on his way to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi.  Soleimani was commander of the Quds Force, one of five branches of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and was considered the second most powerful person in Iran after  Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Soleimani was responsible for all of Iran’s military operations outside of their borders. Five Iraqi nationals and four other Iranian nationals were killed alongside Soleimani.

“After the completion of the preliminary investigation procedures, the judge decided to issue an arrest warrant for the outgoing President of the United States of America, Donald Trump,” read a statement released by the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq on Thursday.

“The investigation procedures will continue to find out the other participants in the implementation of this crime, whether they are Iraqis or foreigners,” the statement added.